Star Trek in Wonderland
by Himizu-chan
Summary: Based off Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland... Betrayed by his fiancee, Spock impulsively follows a human with white rabbit ears into a new yet strangely familiar world. He is supposed to slay a mysterious creature, but his pacifist nature won't let him. And the whole time, he can't shake the feeling that there's something about that odd mad man with the enchanting blue eyes...
1. Prologue: The Fever

**Star Trek in Wonderland**

A/N: The observant reader may notice that I'm taking some pretty big liberties with, ya know, the general universe and continuity and all that… Well, it's an Alice in Wonderland story, and the first rule of Wonderland is "fuck your continuity". And if it's not, well it damn well should be. Keep that in mind. *maniacal laughter for twenty minutes*

Also, it should be noted that there is some Kirk/Spock stuff because it's important to the plot and because I chose to make it so. Also there is some Sulu/Chekov because I find that pairing incredibly hot and so I'm going to shoehorn it in wherever I can and no one can stop me, bwahaha! Also there is a surprise villain pairing that is… um… I have no words. Just go with it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek, I do not own Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (which is the one I based this fic off of because I adore that movie) and I don't own the script that I used either to move the plot in the correct direction, or sometimes to take direct quotes from the movie (I found it on IMDB in case anyone was wondering).

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Prologue: The Fever

When Spock was a very young child, he contracted a terrible fever that left him bedridden for many months. His mother, the Lady Amanda, sought to comfort her suffering son by reading fairy tales to him while he lay in his bed, sometimes nearly delirious with a fever that somehow could not be fought off by his half-human, half-Vulcan physiology.

Sarek didn't approve of his wife reading such absurd tales to the boy, and they argued about it more than once. Spock had only vague memories of these arguments afterwards.

"There's no harm in reading these stories. They comfort him. He's only a little boy."

"He is old enough to be able to stave off the worst effects of the illness through meditation."

"They're only stories."

"They will fill his head with absurdities."

"Is it really logical to deny your son the one thing that's soothed him over the last few weeks?"

In the end, Amanda won the argument. Or she just went behind Sarek's back and read the stories while he was gone. Spock was never entirely sure on that point. It didn't really matter.

His mother's favorite book to read to him was Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. She was under the impression that this was Spock's favorite book as well, but he didn't know why she thought that. He actually found the book to be strange and absurd, and he had very little patience for it. But he would have listened to anything in the world if his mother was the one reading it, for it was her voice rather than the words she was speaking that proved to be the balm for his fevered brain.

In point of fact, Alice's adventures in Wonderland proved a source of confusion for the young half-Vulcan. There was no rhyme or reason to the story or the characters. But something in this absurdity must have caught his fevered brains' attention, for he dreamed of Wonderland for many nights, confusing and strange dreams filled with colors and noise and a complete lack of logic. The dreams were soothing while he slept, but when he lay awake, he fretted over them endlessly, wondering if such illogical dreams meant he was going quite mad.

One evening, when his mother sat down to read to him again, Spock finally plucked up the courage to ask her that dreaded question.

"Mother… do you think this fever has made me… mad?"

"Mad, my dear? As in angry?"

"No. The other definition."

"Why would you ask such a thing?" Amanda asked gently.

"Because I have been having the most appalling dreams recently and I believe they have been brought on by the fever."

"Tell me about the dreams."

"I fall down a dark hole, and I come out in an absurd world populated with the most illogical creatures…"

"Just like Alice?" Amanda asked with a smile.

"I suppose," Spock agreed.

Amanda placed her hand on her son's forehead. He always felt warm to her, but it was clear that his body temperature was still much higher than normal. "Well if that's the case, then yes, I suspect you have gone mad. Bonkers. Off your head. But I'll tell you a secret, my love… all the best people are." She kissed her son's forehead gently. "They're only dreams, my darling. They will go away when you're well. Nothing can harm you in a dream after all. But if you become too uncomfortable in there, you can always wake yourself up with a quick pinch, like this," she said, pinching his arm lightly.

He brushed her hand off his arm. "A physical stimulus to achieve cognitive awareness… fascinating."

Amanda laughed. "You must be feeling better already."

A few days later, Spock's fever broke and, just as Amanda had predicted, he was no longer troubled by those absurd dreams. Soon he had quite forgotten that they had ever happened.

Several years later, Amanda was killed in an avalanche. As was the Vulcan way, Spock kept up the appearance of stoicism, even though inside he felt as though his heart were breaking into pieces.

After the funeral, Sarek asked Spock to look through Amanda's things and pick a few mementos. As Spock searched for something that could adequately remind him of how much Amanda had meant to him, he came across that old book…Alice in Wonderland. He stared at the faded red cover for several minutes, remembering the happiness he had felt when Amanda had read to him. But something troubled him about this book… He could not quite recall why he should feel that way though. Finally he gave up, putting the book away into a box to be stored, and he did not think about the book again for many more years.

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A/N: I know this is really short, but I didn't want to drag it out or really start in on the meat of the fic just yet. Think of it as a teaser. Next chapter will be posted... soon.


	2. Bonding, Interrupted

A/N: I'm getting some great feedback for this story already, which really surprised me since the first chapter is so short. So thank you all for the reviews, favorites, alerts, etc.! And so here's the first real chapter of this fic! Yay!

Also, I just wanted to mention that Jim is NOT the rabbit... I had a couple people say something about that. Should I change the summary to make that more clear?

Disclaimer: Don't own Star Trek or Alice in Wonderland.

Chapter 1: Bonding, Interrupted

Spock and Sarek walked across the hot sands of Vulcan to a large gathering. Both were dressed in elegant ceremonial robes. Today was an important day, the day that Spock would finally be bonded to his fiancée, T'Pring.

"Amanda was looking forward to this day," Sarek said with just the faintest hint of sadness in his voice. "She had a great many plans for the ceremony."

"Her presence is greatly missed," Spock said softly. After several silent minutes, he finally had the courage to ask, "Will Sybok be at the ceremony?"

"Your brother has been invited to attend, as has Stonn," Sarek said, somehow managing to keep his disapproval from being too obvious. Sybok's rejection of the teachings of Surak and the embracing of his emotions was still a sore point with the older Vulcan. Spock was not surprised by this. He often wondered how Stonn was able to handle being bonded to a Vulcan that tried to embrace emotion. It must have been incredibly stressful. Not that Stonn would ever admit to such an emotion of course.

Sybok was standing apart from the other Vulcans when they arrived, and he greeted them with a wide smile as he saluted them. "Father! Spock!" he said happily.

Sarek's eyebrow went up a fraction of an inch. "Sybok."

"Sybok, it is… gratifying to see you," Spock decided at last. The truth was that he had missed his brother terribly, but it would not do to show such emotion on such an important day. Still, he was left in no doubt that Sarek disapproved of even this minor show of affection.

"So when do I get to meet your lovely young bondmate?" Sybok asked, still with a smile plastered across his face, to Sarek's continued annoyance.

"As soon as I can locate her. And where is your bondmate?" Spock asked, not spotting Stonn anywhere nearby. His childhood has been peppered with abuse from the older Vulcan and he had been angry when Sybok and Stonn had been bonded, but of course he'd been in no position to say anything. Then Sybok had left Vulcan after rejecting the teachings of Surak, and had taken Stonn with him of course. But Spock would have gladly faced his old nemesis again if it meant having his brother nearby because at least his brother didn't act like Spock's human DNA was a handicap.

Sybok gestured vaguely. "He is nearby. It has been far too long since we've been on Vulcan and he is spending time with his family and friends."

Spock nodded his understanding. Soon he excused himself to go and find T'Pring so that they could prepare for the bonding ceremony. As he walked, he spotted something white moving out of the corner of his eye. This was unusual since the Vulcan desert was burnt red and the inhabitants tended to wear black. He turned, hoping to catch a better glimpse of the white, but it was gone. He kept walking, then saw the flash of white again. Again he turned to look around, but nothing was there.

At last he managed to turn fast enough and actually got a glimpse of a figure dressed immaculately in a white uniform with a bright blue waistcoat. Spock shook his head, certain that this was a hallucination. He got several more paces before turning yet again to see the figure. This time he could see that the figure was male and certainly not Vulcan. He had thick curly brown hair, inquisitive and innocent hazel eyes, and strangest of all, he had long white rabbit ears. The figure turned and darted off, and Spock was almost certain that the figure had a small white cottontail too. Shaking his head, Spock wondered if he had spent too much time in the desert sun lately. He had not suffered hallucinations like that before.

Despite the firm belief that the man in white with rabbit ears was a hallucination, Spock found himself walking towards where he'd last seen the figure. As he approached, he could hear voices coming from behind one of the large rocks.

"You cannot comprehend how comforting it is to meld with a mind that is organized and free of emotion," a male voice was saying.

"You know that I can," a female voice replied, and Spock froze.

"You have not melded with him in months, I can tell," the male voice said.

"I would prefer never to meld with such a disorganized mind again. I prefer yours," the female voice said, and Spock knew those voices. It was Stonn and T'Pring!

"Do not bond with him. I will break my bond with Sybok and we can bond with each other."

"I cannot do that. Think of the scandal. I have been promised to the younger son of Sarek since we were children."

"Spock will not care. He does not care for you… Does he?"

"No. He does not. The few times that we have melded, his mind has yearned for another."

"He is interested in someone else?"

"I do not know if he desires someone else or if he is simply repelled by the idea of bonding with me, but either way…" T'Pring trailed off, and Spock finally stepped around the boulder to see Stonn and T'Pring wrapped in an embrace, their fingers on each other's meld points, lost in their own world together, and totally oblivious to Spock's presence.

Spock cleared his throat. "T'Pring," he said emotionlessly.

T'Pring and Stonn pulled away from each other. Stonn's eyes were a fraction wider than normal, but T'Pring looked utterly composed.

"So you have found us at last," she said mildly. "I wondered if you would discover our relationship before our bonding. "

"You had intended to bond with me despite wanting another?" Spock asked, a hint of incredulity in his voice.

"Certainly. My relationship with Stonn would not have interfered with our lives as I had intended to spend as much time apart from you as possible," T'Pring said coldly. "Stonn was going to petition the Elders to allow him to remain here, citing extreme hardship by being away from other Vulcans thanks to your emotional brother."

Spock's mind was reeling. All his life, he had encountered prejudice from other Vulcans because he was half-human, but from birth he'd been raised to believe that his bondmate would accept him for who he was unconditionally, and he had been promised to T'Pring for years. Surely she would have objected before now if she had had misgivings…

"What are you going to do now?" Stonn asked.

"I…" Spock realized that he had no plan.

"We will continue with the bonding ceremony as planned so that there will be no scandal. Then you will go to study at the Vulcan Science Academy to study while I remain here with Stonn," T'Pring said firmly.

Spock gaped wordlessly at her. She brushed past him and walked off to the ceremonial altar. Stonn started to follow, but then turned back to Spock. "Not a word of this to Sybok, are we agreed?" he asked.

Spock could find no response, but Stonn took his silence as consent and hurried after T'Pring. Spock finally shook himself out of his reverie and followed them.

Within a few minutes, he and T'Pring were standing in their ceremonial robes at the center of a group of their family members, friends, and the Elders. Spock shot a glance at his unflappable father, and at Sybok standing with Stonn, the two bondmates ignoring each other completely. Spock felt ill. Was this what he had to look forward to now? He barely noticed as T'Pring obediently chanted her part of the Vulcan ceremonial vows, such a placid expression on her face as she lied through her teeth and promised to be his everything.

And now it was Spock's turn to recite his part of the vows, and the words deserted him as he stood there, totally lost in his visions of a miserable future. And then, to his complete shock, he saw the young man with the rabbit ears again, leaning against a boulder and glaring at him with obvious irritation. The man was holding an over-sized pocket watch and tapping it impatiently. And suddenly Spock remembered that he HAD had visions like this before, so many years ago as fever-stricken child while his mother read to him from that ridiculous collection of fairy tales.

"Spock," Sarek prompted him gently.

Spock shook himself, meeting T'Pring's eyes. She was gazing at him quite innocently, but he could see the triumph in her eyes. She was so sure that he didn't have the courage to admit in front of all of them that she had already declared her intent to abandon him because of his half-human ancestry. He had already suffered enough from his elders and peers alike because of his differences, it seemed illogical that he would invite more scorn and pity upon his person.

No, Spock did not have the courage to speak up in front of everyone now, but he didn't have the courage to go through with this either.

"I… I apologize, Elders. I need a moment," Spock said with a calm he did not feel at all. Indeed, he was in so much inner turmoil that he was amazed his voice didn't shake. He strode quickly away from the ceremonial grounds towards the spot where he'd seen the rabbit-eared figure. The figure was already gone, but now Spock saw footprints in the hot desert sand, and he followed them eagerly. He had no idea what he hoped to find, but suddenly he felt as though he had a link to his mother, and he wanted to cling to that link badly.

He ran across the desert, following the tracks, but after a while they vanished and he stopped, confused. There was a small hole between two boulders and Spock peered at this in puzzlement for a few moments, but before he could make a decision, the ground caved in underneath him and sent him tumbling down into the hole.

As he fell, he passed a number of strange objects, including Terran and Vulcan artifacts, images of stars and planets and the most fantastic alien life forms he'd ever seen, and several objects from his youth, including the books Amanda had read to him. After what felt like hours, Spock slammed into a wooden floor with a devastating crash.

He laid on the floor for a few moments, feeling just a little dazed, the wind knocked out of him. Finally he pushed himself to his feet and looked around. He was inside of a small circular room, empty except for a tiny three-legged table with a tiny silver key on it. Spock glanced up quickly, but found that the room now had a perfectly ordinary ceiling with a chandelier on it. There were about a dozen doors all around the room. Spock approached the first one and found that it was locked, so he went back to grab the key, but it proved to be too small to fit in the lock. He repeated this process on all the doors, but the result was the same. Frowning, he turned in a slow circle, looking carefully at the room. Then his sensitive Vulcan ears caught a soft male voice.

"You said he was a Vulcan. They're supposed to be logical."

"Da, he is Wulcan. He vill pass test."

A test then… Very well. Spock was excellent at passing tests. If the key was too small to fit into any of these doors, then logically there must be another… smaller… door. His eyes fell on a dark brown curtain that blended in well with the wood-paneled wall. He swept it aside and stared at the blank wall in confusion for a moment before realizing that there was a tiny door down near the floor. Spock knelt next to the door and tried the key. The door opened at once, and he peered out to see an overgrown jungle filled with the most bizarre and fantastic plants he'd ever seen. But the door looked barely big enough for him to fit more than perhaps his head and one shoulder through.

Spock closed the door, removed the key, and turned back to the room. He noticed that a dark blue glass bottle now sat on the table. Next to the bottle was a little card made of cream-colored paper, and in a delicate old-fashioned script, it read "Drink me."

Spock frowned. It was not wise to drink from strange bottles, but then everything about this whole adventure was surreal. He laid the key on the table and uncorked the bottle and sniffed. Finding nothing particularly objectionable about it, he tipped it so that only a couple of drops fell onto his tongue. A most peculiar feeling rushed through his body, and suddenly he found he'd shrunk by approximately 6.43 inches.

"Fascinating…" he muttered, grabbing the silvery key and taking a larger sip.

"He doesn't remember! Don't Vulcans have perfect memories?"

"Dat is him! Give him a chance!"

Spock continued to sip from the glass bottle at precise rates until he had shrunk to a height that would allow him to get through the door. His ceremonial robes pooled around him, far too big now. Spock stepped out from them, glad that his undershirt and shorts still covered him well. Then he spotted a tiny table under the larger one, and this one had a little box on it with a second card saying "Eat me." Inside there was a pretty little cake. Spock studied it.

"Hm…" he muttered to himself. "Logically, this cake would cause me to grow. Right now that would be unnecessary. But perhaps I should bring it with me. This could prove useful." That settled, he tucked the box and the bottle into the pocket of his undershirt and stepped towards the door. There was a series of rustling noises from behind the door, as though several creatures were hurrying away from it. Spock shrugged and unlocked the door, stepping into the fantastic new world.


	3. A Most Unwelcoming Welcome

A/N: Whee, gratuitous Chulu for no reason! :-D Makes me happy. Nothing major, but enough to make my twisted little heart skip a beat. Anyways, introducing more characters and being awesome this chapter. Also, I just love Sulu to pieces... I really really do... Oh, and because I'm evil, Jim Kirk doesn't appear til next chapter. Anyways, enough of my ramblings, please enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or Alice in Wonderland, which is very sad... Surely that would mean access to Johnny Depp... (swoon)

Chapter 2: A Most Unwelcoming Welcome

Spock stared around at the jungle he'd found himself in. It was more like a garden, he realized, but one that had not been properly cared for in quite some time. The sky above was gray and overcast and the very air felt sad and neglected. The stone pathway beneath his feet was chipped and cracked. A moss-covered fountain sat silent and empty. Large bugs of every shape buzzed around and flowers three times his height turned to stare at him with human-like faces.

"Curiouser and curiouser…" he muttered to himself.

"I told you, he is right Wulcan! He must be right Wulcan! No one else could see me there!"

Spock looked around in confusion. Then he spotted the youth with curly hair and rabbit ears. The youngster was sprawled against the fountain with a smug expression on his face. He was lying with his head in the lap of a handsome Asian man with mouse ears, nose, and whiskers. He wore old-fashioned breeches and a loose-fitting shirt and he looked very much like a buccaneer, and his fingers were running through the curls of the man with the rabbit features.

There were footsteps behind him and he turned to see two beautiful women dressed in identical slutty dresses. One was a human with perfect blonde hair and the other was an Orion with brilliant green skin and a mess of copper-colored hair that fell to her waist. They had their arms looped around each other's waists, and even though they were different species and had different hair colors, there was something about the pair that made it seem as though they were sisters, or at least best friends.

"No offense, Pav, but I'm not convinced," the mousy Asian said, still running his fingers through the Russian rabbit's curls.

The teen threw up his hands in exasperation. "So much for gratitude! I spend veeks on dat miserable rock vaiting for a Wulcan to notice me, and all I hear is that I bring back the wrong one!"

"I'm sorry Pav, but I think he's the wrong one," the Asian insisted.

"He's a handsome fellow though, isn't he?" the Orion girl said happily.

"That he is. I wonder if he's a dried-up stick of a man like all the other Vulcans are," the human girl mused.

"Well if he is, he might be," the Orion said with a sigh.

"And if he isn't, he ain't," the human said with a firm nod.

"But if he were so, he would be."

"But he isn't, nohow."

"I… do not understand…" Spock said at last. "Who are all of you?"

"Pavel Chekov, the Vite Rabbit," said the young Russian somehow managing to bow from his sprawled position.

"Or the White Russian. He has many nicknames," said the Asian, standing lazily. He had a fencing saber at his waist and looked even more dashing once he was standing. "I'm Hikaru Sulu, the Dormouse."

"And we're the Tweedles. I'm Gaila," the Orion woman said, slithering up to him and wrapping her arms around him.

"And I'm Christine," the blonde woman said, appearing on his other side to mirror her twin's action.

"Ve must consult Absolem," Pavel said, propping himself up on his elbows without Hikaru's lap to support his head.

"That's a good idea. Absolem will know who he is," Hikaru agreed, reaching out to help the younger man to his feet.

"I'll escort you," Gaila said, tugging Spock closer to her.

"It's not being your turn," Christine whined, tugging Spock towards her and away from Gaila.

"Leave off! I saw him first!"

"Let go! I'm the one who saw him first!"

"Are they always like this?" Spock asked as he was helplessly tugged between the two angry girls.

"Only ven they like vat they see," Chekov said dryly. "You can both escort him, let's go."

The girls manage to position Spock exactly between them and they followed Chekov and Sulu into a forest of mushrooms.

"Who is this Absolem?"

"He's vise. He's absolute," Pavel beamed.

"He's Absolem!" the girls added.

The mushroom forest was so foggy that they could hardly see where they were going. Spock coughed, finding the fog to be unusually thick… and smoke-like…

"Who… are you?" a gentle deep voice asked.

Spock blinked, squinting through the fog. He noticed a certain area where a steady plume of fog seemed to be rising. He took a few more steps and saw a very elderly man wrapped in shimmering blue robes and smoking from a hookah. As the old man exhaled, Spock realized with a jolt of shock that the man's face was like an older version of his own!

"Absolem?" he asked.

"You are not Absolem. I am Absolem," the blue-garbed man with Spock's aged face said, blinking in his direction. "The question is… who are YOU?" He blew smoke rings into the surprised half-Vulcan's face, making him cough.

"I am Spock," he said when he had his breath back.

"And you claim to be a Vulcan?"

"I have not made that claim, but I am."

"We shall see."

"I think I ought to know who I am."

"Yes, you ought," Absolem agreed dryly. "Unroll the Oraculum."

Pavel unrolled an ancient parchment across a nearby toadstool. "Here it is," he whispered.

"The Oraculum is a calendrical compendium of Underland," Sulu explained to Spock.

Spock leaned forward to study the parchment, which was set up like a timeline. Each day had a title and an illustration to go with it.

"This is just a calendar," he said.

"It is a compendium," Absolem corrected. "It tells of each and every day since the beginning."

"Today is Griblig day in the time of the Red King," Chekov added, one white ear drooping sadly at the mention of the mention of said king. The illustration of the day shows the entire group, including Spock, peering at the Oraculum, which has an illustration of them, which also has an illustration, and goes on forever in a whirlwind of meta insanity.

"Show him the Frabjous day," Absolem intoned.

Pavel did so at once. "Dis is da day dat you are supposed to slay the Jabbervocky."

"I beg your pardon…?" Spock said once he found his voice again.

The picture distinctly showed Spock wielding a sword against a flying creature with reptilian wings and long sharp claws.

"And that's you there with the Vorpal sword," Gaila whispered.

"No other swords can kill the Jabberwocky, nohow," Christine added.

"If it ain't Vorpal, he ain't dead," Gaila agreed.

Spock backed away from them. "That is not me. That cannot be."

"I knew it!" Sulu declared.

"Please resolwe this for us, Absolem," Chekov pleaded. "Is he the right Wulcan?"

The silver-haired man looked Spock in the eye and Spock again stared uncomfortably into his own face, 100 years into the future. "Not hardly," he said at last. Then he blew another plume of smoke and vanished completely, to Spock's utter confusion.

"I told you," Hikaru said with a sniff.

"Oh dear…" Pavel muttered.

"I said so!" Christine declared.

"No, I said so!" Gaila argued.

"Contrariwise, you said he might be!" Christine contradicted.

"No, you said he would be if he was."

"You should be ashamed of yourself! Pretending to be the Vulcan who will save our lands!" Sulu said with a derisive snort.

"But I vas so sure…" Pavel muttered, his ears drooping and hanging his head. Hikaru wrapped his arm around the young Russian's shoulder to comfort him. The girls crossed their arms and glared at Spock, who was even more bewildered.

"Your demands are illogical. Vulcans are pacifists, we do not slay."

"Dere are no circumstances in vich you slay?" Chekov asked.

"Only if our lives are in immediate danger, or if we are trying to protect our mates," Spock said with a frown.

Before the discussion could continue, there was a thundering roar filling the entire mushroom forest. Then a gigantic creature with silvery fur and a body like a combination of a bear, a tiger, and a bulldog crashed in.

"Bandersnatch!" Gaila and Christine screeched together, diving off into the forest.

The filthy and foul-smelling creature roared and charged into their midst, and everyone scattered. Knights dressed in red uniforms leapt in and grabbed several of the miscellaneous animals that had gathered to watch the spectacle. One of the knights grabbed Chekov and threw him into a caged wagon.

"PAVEL!" Sulu shouted. But the Bandersnatch roared again and Sulu had no choice but to run, with Spock hard on his heels.

Spock suddenly stopped, shaking his head. "This must be a hallucination. These things simply cannot be real. And if it is a hallucination, then I cannot be injured."

Sulu, who had continued to run, turned around to see Spock standing there lost in thought. "Are you insane?" he yelled back.

"This thing cannot hurt me if it is a product of my fevered brain," Spock insisted softly.

"Run, you idiot!" Sulu yelled, drawing his foil and leaping towards Spock. He managed to strike the Bandersnatch repeatedly, finally yanking out one of its eyes. As the creature screeched and spat in pain, its claws dug into Spock's arm, sending green blood spilling from his arm. Finally jolted out of his musings, Spock fled.

A good-looking dark-haired man stepped up to the abandoned Oraculum and snatched it up, peering at it for several moments before hurrying off after the rest of the knights.

Spock ran until he reached a fork in the road. As he hesitated, Gaila and Christine appeared on either side of him again.

"This way! East to Queast!" Gaila exclaimed.

"No, south to Snud!" Christine argued, tugging at Spock's other arm. The two were soon fighting again, but before that could go too far, there was a screech in the air above them. Then a truly massive Jubjub bird, like an eagle but with much longer legs, swooped down, snatching up Gaila and Christine in its talons and swooping off again, leaving Spock quite alone in this unfamiliar world.

The Jubjub bird flew across the barren land with the Tweedle girls towards Salazen Grum and the castle of the Red King. Inside a long hallway, several humans and Romulans in bright red uniforms lined the hallway. They made way, bowing low, as a Romulan man with a tattooed face strode through the crowd.

"Who has failed to dust my chamber?" he demanded. An unfortunate serving girl fell to her knees in tears. "Off with her head!"

"Yes, King Nero," one of the guards said, dragging the girl off.

"Who was responsible for that atrocious roast served for lunch?"

A cook was dragged into the room. "This is the one, my king," another guard said.

"Very well. Off with his head!"

After he had sentenced three more servants to death for minor crimes, he stalked to his throne and slumped down onto it. The dark-haired man from before stepped in.

"Majesty?"

"Gary Mitchell, my knave!" For once Nero's face lit up. "Where have you been, you wonderful wretch?" He held out his hand and Gary Mitchell grasped it and lightly kissed the back of it.

"Majesty, I found the Oraculum," he said, laying it out on a table.

"Hm…. I am not impressed," Nero said, sounding bored.

"But look here… on the Frabjous Day," Gary Mitchell said, pointing. He pointed to the illustration of Spock killing the Jabberwocky.

"A Vulcan…" Nero hissed, eyes darkening with rage. "That cannot be…. Vulcans cannot cross over into Underland. Their _logical_ and _emotionless_ minds cannot handle the wonders of this land. There has never been a Vulcan here, and there never will be."

"There was a Vulcan here once," Gary Mitchell reminded him.

"You mean… Ah, yes… But that Vulcan is probably long dead. He was a sickly little thing, surely the disease took his life," Nero said with a wave of his hand.

"So you think him dead and therefore unable to slay your Jabberwocky?" Gary asked, sounding a bit skeptical.

"If you are so certain that the Vulcan will return, then I shall send you out to look for him."

"I will bring back his head and lay it at your feet," Gary promised with a bow.

"No. Bring the Vulcan to me alive. I want to do it myself."

Gary bowed low and withdrew from his presence, feeling Nero's eyes on him as he left the room. Out in the stables, he found a ragged-looking male prisoner, a weary-looking but ruggedly handsome man with long basset hound ears and other basset hound-like features. The man is bound with heavy ropes and a thick spiked collar. Gary glared down at the man.

"Find the Vulcan, Christopher Pike, and earn your freedom," he declared.

"For the other cadets that you have in your dungeons as well?" Pike demanded.

"Everyone goes home," Gary agreed.

Pike appeared satisfied with that answer, and when he was unbound, he started off at an easy lope across the barren landscape, employing all his skills as a fantastic tracker, as well as his extraordinary basset hound senses. Gary Mitchell sat upon a fine horse and watched him go with a smug smile. Poor sentimental old man. He really ought to know better than to trust the Red King and his Knave to play fair.

A/N: Oh my god you guys… I'm just… I'm so sorry for that pairing… Nero and Gary Mitchell… It's so wonderful and awful at the same time. It's fantastic, yet it should not be…


	4. The Strangest Tea Party

A/N: Oh my god, I love this chapter! I think by the end of this, everyone has been introduced except for the White Queen (who I think shows up in the next chapter but please don't hold me to that). Oh my lord, Scotty! Scotty is fantastic! So is Kirk! Everyone is fantastic! Bahahaha! Please review and remind me to update!

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or Alice in Wonderland.

Chapter 3: The Strangest Tea Party

All alone, Spock ran through the woods until he could run no further. Gasping for breath, he leaned against a tree, checking his arm where that creature had scratched him. His arm now had several deep gashes in it and he swore under his breath.

"Aye matey, look like ye've run afoul o' somethin' wit' wicked claws," a voice said with a heavy Scottish brogue.

Spock's head snapped up and he looked over to see the head of a man with red hair, gigantic luminous green eyes, cat whiskers, cat ears, and other catlike features floating in midair next to him.

"And still, I am hallucinating…" Spock muttered, pressing his fingertips to his forehead.

"What did that te ye, laddie?" the cat-man asked.

"I do not recall… Bander..."

The Bandersnatch? Best let me have a look." Then the head vanished and then the cat-man appeared properly next to him, a cocky grin on his face. He examined the wound closely. "Ye ought te be purifyin' it wit' someone wit' evaporating skills or it'll fester and putrefy."

"I will be fine when the hallucinations are over," Spock said calmly.

"Well, at least let me bind it for ye," the cat-man said, wrapping a bandage around Spock's arm. "Now, what de ye call yerself?"

"I am Spock."

"Yer a Vulcan, yeah?"

"Yes, but I do not want to get into this discussion again."

"I never get involved in politics," the cat-man said with a shrug. "Ye'd best be on yer way."

"What way? I simply want to return to my home."

"Alright laddie, keep yer shirt on, I'll be takin' ye te see the Hare and the Hatter. But that'll be th' end o' that, mark me words!" the cat-man said sternly, his accent become even more pronounced as he talked. Then he vanished. Spock looked around in confusion, then he saw the cat-man reappear several yards ahead. "Ye comin?"

Spock exhaled and started following.

The cat-man led Spock to the strangest tea party Spock had ever seen. The tea set was made up of many cracked, chipped, and mismatched cups and saucers of all sizes and colors. The tablecloth was stained and threadbare, the chairs lopsided and broken. Three figures sat around the table. One was Sulu the Dormouse, tossing the Bandersnatch eye in the air and catching it over and over again. Another was a ruggedly good-looking older man with graceful long gray rabbit ears and wide golden eyes. He was fidgeting and glancing around nervously. The third figure was a man with an unnaturally pale face, messy blonde hair sticking out from beneath a ratty scorched top hat, and morose blue eyes. He slumped against the table, fidgeting with the teacup.

Suddenly the man with the long gray ears jumped to his feet. "The hell was that noise?" he demanded in a gruff Southern drawl. "Who's there?"

The cat-man led Spock up to the table. The man in the top hat glanced up and his eyes fell on Spock. His eyes lit up and he sprang to his feet, leaping right onto the table and walking across it to jump down and stare at Spock intently.

"Your hair wants cutting, but it's certainly you!" he gasped.

"No it's not. Pavel brought us the wrong Vulcan," Sulu interrupted, looking incredibly cranky at the mention of the man with the rabbit features.

"No, it's him! I'd know him anywhere!" the man with the top hat protested. He grabbed Spock's hand and pulled him back onto the top of the table.

Spock tried not to step on any teacups as the other man pulled him to sit down in the chair next to his. Spock shuddered under the confusing torrent of the new emotions flooding into him through the point of contact. There was no order, none whatsoever. It was even more chaotic than the few times he'd interacted with normal humans.

"As you can see, we're still having tea!" the man with the top hat said brightly. "It's all because I was obliged to kill Time waiting for your return. You're terribly late, you know. Naughty," he said, wagging his finger gently in front of Spock's nose, making his eyes cross. "Well anyways, Time became quite offended and stopped altogether. Not a tick ever since. But now you are back, you see, and we need to get on to the Frabjous day. I'm investigating things that begin with the letter M. Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?"

He stopped speaking suddenly and then he and his two companions both exclaimed, "Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid!"

"I do not understand…" Spock said.

"'Down with the Bloody Big Head'," the cat-man explained. "Bloody Big Head being the Red King."

"It's a secret language used by us… the Underland Underground Resistance," Sulu proclaimed proudly, touching the sword at his side and tossing the Bandersnatch eye in the air again.

"Come, come!" the man in the top head said happily. "We simply must commence with the slaying and such… Therefore it's high time for Time to forgive and forget. Or forget and forgive, whichever comes first. Or is, in any case, most convenient. I'm waiting." He picked up a pocket watch, tapped at it impatiently, dipped it in his tea cup a few times, then listened again. "It's ticking again!" he exclaimed, laughing hysterically.

"Damnit Jimmy…" the man with the long gray ears muttered, putting a hand to his forehead.

The cat-man sighed. "All this talk of blood and slaying has put me off my tea."

"The entire world is falling to ruin and poor Scotty is off his tea," said the man with the top hat sarcastically.

"What happened that day was not me fault," Scotty said, his cat ears flattening as he hissed.

The man with top hat suddenly had a furious and ugly look on his face. He slammed both hands down on the table, sending cups and teapots flying. "You ran out on them to save your own skin!" he snarled, his accent suddenly devastatingly Gaelic. "You guddler's scuttish pilgar lickering…"

Scotty vanished and then reappeared next to Spock, placing his hands lightly over the Vulcan's pointed ears. The man with the top hat kept cursing and swearing, his lips moving faster and faster as his fury spilled out. He seemed to be working himself into a frenzy, unable to stop his tirade.

"…Shukem juggling sluking ur-pals. Bar lom muck eg brimni."

"Jim!" the man with the long ears exclaimed.

The man shook himself. "Thank you. I'm fine."

"Sorry you had to see that," Sulu said to Spock. "Jim hasn't really been himself for quite a while now. Our poor old Mad Hatter…"

"Ah, don't be hard on Jimmy," the man with the long ears drawled.

"You're a bleeding heart, McCoy," Sulu replied.

"What's wrong wit' ye, Jim?" Scotty the Cheshire Cat asked. "Ye used t' be th' life o' th' party. Ye used t' do th' best Futterwacken in all of Witzend."

"Futter-what?" Spock asked.

"It's a dance," Sulu explained.

"On the Frabjous day, when the White Queen once again wears the crown… On that day, I'll Futterwacken… vigorously," Jim said with a maniacal grin.

McCoy looked around suddenly. "The Knave is coming! Hide him!"

Scotty vanished. Jim picked up a small bottle. "Drink this!" he exclaimed.

"I would prefer…" Spock began.

"If you want to live, DRINK!" Jim hissed urgently.

Spock hesitated, but something in Jim's eyes was urgent enough to be persuasive. He took the bottle and drank it quickly, shrinking down to a mere six inches in height. Jim reached out and grabbed him, stuffing him and his over-large clothes into the teapot and closing the lid.

"Mind your head," he murmured.

Spock shivered, crouched in the teapot. At least it was empty. The trio at the table started chattering and carrying on just as Pike, Gary Mitchell, and some other Red Knights walked up to the table.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite trio of lunatics," Gary Mitchell said with a smug smile.

"You're all late for tea!" McCoy shouted, hurling a teapot at Gary Mitchell, who ducked.

"We're looking for a Vulcan," he said, as though a teapot had not just been hurled at his head.

Pike paced slowly around the table, staring at all of them with shrewd eyes.

"Speaking of the King… here's a song we sang at her soiree," Jim said brightly.

The trio started singing. "Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder where you're at!"

Gary grabbed Jim around the throat with a snarl, while the knights cracked McCoy and Sulu over the head with their weapons.

"If you're hiding him, you'll lose your heads," Gary threatened.

"Already lost them," Jim said with a crazed cackle. "All sing together."

"Up above the world you fly, like a tea tray in the sky!" they sang. Then they all dissolved into laughter. "Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, twinkle…"

Pike, who was crouched next to the table near Jim's chair, suddenly moved towards the teapot. Jim glanced down at him. Through clenched teeth, he hissed, "Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid."

Pike froze. He and Jim exchanged significant glances, and then Jim looked pointedly at the teapot in his lap. Pike nodded, moved around the table a few paces, then suddenly stood up and started jogging away, appearing to have a new trail.

"Follow the prisoner!" Gary yelled at the knights. They did so, but he lingered, glaring suspiciously at the group seated around the table. "You're all mad," he muttered irritably.

The trio just started laughing at this blinding flash of the obvious. Gary Mitchell started walking away. McCoy and Sulu stopped laughing, but Jim was in the grips of hysterics and couldn't stop.

"Jim!" Sulu exclaimed.

Jim's head jerked and he choked on his own laughter. "I'm fine… Really, I'm fine," he gasped. He put the teapot back on the table, then peeked in. He slammed it back down abruptly. "Sorry… one moment." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pair of milliner's scissors. His hands moved so fast that they were a blur, and when he was done, he had a pair of tiny black pants and a blue tunic in his hands. Then he opened the lid again and handed them over. "Try these on for size."

He closed the lid again and tapped his fingers against the table, staring at the teapot with the strangest expression on his face. Then there was a soft knock on the lid. Jim opened the lid and lifted Spock out, wearing the new clothes and grumbling a bit about the loss of his old ones, and the articles contained therein.

"Hmm… Sorry, it's the best I could do, I'm afraid. Not half bad, if I must say so myself." Jim had a funny sort of half-smile on his face.

"It's a good thing Pike is one of us, or you'd be…" Sulu drew his finger across his throat meaningfully, glaring at Spock.

"You'd best take him to Marmoreal. He'll be safe with the White Queen until the Frabjous day…" McCoy said, nervously playing with one of his ears.

"Can she help me stop these hallucinations?" Spock asked.

"If she doesn't start haunting your dreams herself," Jim said with another of his mad laughs. Then he swept his scorched and tattered hat off his head, revealing gravity-defying dirty blonde hair. "Your carriage, my good man!"

"The hat?" Spock asked skeptically.

"Anyone can go by horse or by rail, but the absolute best way to travel is by hat! Oohh… I've just made a rhyme!" Jim declared.

McCoy put his hand to his head, muttering to himself. Then he glared at Jim. "Mind if I have a quick word with our new friend here before you take off?" he asked.

"Sure thing, Bones," Jim agreed, waving his hand carelessly. McCoy reached down and grabbed Spock by the collar of the makeshift blue shirt, lifting him up and carrying him a short distance away.

"Alright you damn green-blooded hobgoblin…" he began angrily.

"Please explain the reason for your insult," Spock said dryly.

McCoy closed his eyes. "Alright, fine, let's start over… I'm Doctor Leonard McCoy, also known as the March Hare. And you are?"

"Spock, son of Sarek, of Vulcan."

McCoy nodded. "I knew you were a Vulcan the second I laid eyes on you. You have that look about you…"

Spock lifted an eyebrow.

"Anyways, you listen to me, Spock… I don't know what Jimmy is thinking by taking you off without letting me accompany him, but you behave yourself, got it? Last time there was a Vulcan here in Underland, it did something to Jimmy. He was perfectly fine, and then one day he wasn't fine anymore and his mind… it just shattered, is all. And then Nero, that's the Red King, he showed up and then everything in our lives went to hell. I've been trying to help Jimmy out, but he's pretty well broken at this point, and if you mess with his head any further, I'll squash you like a bug, don't think I won't, you understand me?"

Spock just nodded, deciding that was easier than trying to argue with the obviously irate doctor.

"Bones, come on, I need to take him to the White Queen as soon as possible," Jim whined.

"Alright Jimmy, keep your shirt on. I don't need to be treating any passersby for heart attacks after they get a look at your fine half-naked self."

Jim managed a half-grin as McCoy picked Spock up again and deposited him lightly on the brim of the hat. Then Jim put the hat on his head again and started off at a brisk walk.

"Frifarren, all!" he called over his shoulder. Sulu just glared after them, his arms crossed.

"But you haven't had your tea!" McCoy yelled.

"Mind your head," Jim whispered. No sooner had he spoken, then a teapot came flying past his head. Spock ducked, wondering if McCoy might not be just as mad as Jim appeared to be.

They walked on for quite a while through a dark forest. Soon Jim was mumbling to himself in a Scottish brogue that would have rivaled Scotty's.

"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe," he murmured.

Spock gripped the brim of the hat and cautiously lowered himself to sit on the shoulder of Jim's gaudy overcoat. "Sorry? What was that?" he asked.

"Sorry? What was what?" Jim asked innocently. His blue eyes had taken on a strange faraway light. "The Jabberwock with eyes of flame, the jaws that bite, the claws that catch… Beware of the Jabberwock, my son, and the frumious Bandersnatch. He took the vorpal sword in hand, the vorpal blade went snicker-snack. He left is dead, and with its head, and he went galumping back… It's all about you, you know."

Spock snorted derisively. "I will not be slaying anything. I follow the teachings of Surak, and therefore I do not slay. So put it out of your mind."

"Mmmm… Mind…" Jim muttered, his eyes glazing over a bit. Then he grabbed the back of Spock's shirt and deposited him lightly on the ground, then started walking away.

"Wait! You cannot leave me here!" Spock exclaimed, trying his best to follow despite his small size.

"You don't slay…" Jim said with an angry snort. "Do you have any idea what Nero has done? And you say that you don't slay…"

"I could not." Not unless it was to defend a mate, but that wasn't something Spock wanted to bring up again.

"You're not the same as you were before," Jim said sadly. "You were much more… much more muchier… You've lost your muchness."

"My muchness?" Spock repeated.

Jim stopped, kneeling down to stare deep into Spock's brown eyes. Then he poked his stomach lightly with his finger. "In there. Something's missing. It's a shame… I thought things would be different when you came back." Then he stood up and started walking away again.

Spock followed. "Tell me what the Red King has done."

"It's not a pretty story."

"Tell me anyway."

Jim stopped walking. When Spock had caught up with him, he reached down and put the tiny Vulcan back on his shoulder and kept walking through the foliage. After several minutes, they found themselves in an area that was blackened and scorched. Jim glanced around miserably.

"This is where it happened," he whispered. "The White Queen is a brilliant woman… She commanded that a school be started for the best and brightest young minds… Starfleet Academy. I attended that school, you know." He closed his eyes, clearly reliving that terrible day.

"There was a festival… Some great party or other… Everyone was having a wonderful time. And then we were ambushed. Nearly an entire class of students was cut down where they stood. I helped get the Queen to safety. Most of my friends were slaughtered. Some managed to escape. The head of the school, Pike, he was captured and taken along with a handful of students and teachers. They are in prison, awaiting execution no doubt."

"How did he take you by surprise?" Spock asked.

"The Jabberwocky… it is a formidable foe," Jim said simply. "They took away the Vorpal sword, the only weapon we had that could have defeated the Jabberwocky. And we have all been essentially in hiding ever since, just trying to recover enough to attack Nero and renew our Queen to the throne."

Spock stared at him. Grief, rage, horror, all of these emotions danced across his face. And there was something else under all of that, some terrible confusion and madness that controlled him more cruelly than any of his other torments. "Jim?" he asked at last.

Jim's head jerked up, banishing the memories with a few blinks of his damp blue eyes. "I'm fine. Just fine. Really."

"Are you?" Spock asked softly.

Jim said nothing, but something again flickered across his face, some emotion that Spock could not identify. "Did you hear that? I'm certain I heard something…" he said vaguely.

At first Spock thought this was just a distraction, but then he realized that he could hear something as well.

"Red Knights!" Jim hissed. He quickly stuffed Spock into his front pocket and took off at a run, leaping over stumps and dodging around trees, but soon he was surrounded by Red Knights. He glanced down at Spock. "You must got south to Grampas Bluffs. The White Queen's castle is just beyond. You'll be safe there." And with that, he swept off his hat magnificently. "Jump on the hat," he hissed.

Spock jumped, clinging desperately to the band. Then Jim flung his arms wide, sending the hat and Spock flying off over the treetops.

"DOWN WITH THE BLOODY RED KING!" was the last thing Jim shouted that Spock could hear. He flew through the air and landed on a patch of soft grass. Brushing himself off, Spock stood and looked around. Realizing that it was now quite dark, he decided to stay there for the night, and he slipped under the hat for shelter.


	5. Entering the Castle of the Red King

A/N: So I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed, alerted, or favorited this story! And I'm gonna go ahead and thank everyone who is even reading this because I can see that this story is getting a ton of views on every chapter, even if most people aren't reviewing or anything. While I wish everyone would, I'm really just happy to see that lots of people are reading every chapter, so you must like it and that makes me so happy! So thanks everyone! Now on with the story.

A/N 2: I corrected a minor grammar error that a reviewer pointed out to me at the end of the chapter (accidentally referred to Spock as female... oops...), but that was the only change.

Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland or Star Trek

Chapter 4: Entering the Castle of the Red King

Spock woke to the sound of footsteps outside the hat. He started to stand, and then jumped as the hat was flipped up. He found himself staring at Christopher Pike, the bloodhound. For a moment, he felt relief… but then anger raced through his blood.

"Traitor!" he exclaimed. "You were supposed to lead them away. Jim trusted you!"

"They have so many of my students…" Pike shuddered. Spock could feel his pain, but he was still angry, too angry to even be upset about this emotional turmoil.

"Pike…" he said at last. Pike tilted his head, staring at the tiny Vulcan.

"So you are the Vulcan."

"I am not the correct Vulcan, or so I have been told," Spock said simply. "I am called Spock."

"Well, Spock…" And Pike smiled indulgently, as though Spock were a favorite, particularly clever, pupil. "I know Jim better than anyone, except for McCoy, and I know that he wouldn't have given himself up for just any Vulcan."

"Where did they take him?" Spock demanded.

"To King Nero's castle at Salazun Grum," Pike replied.

Spock studied the tattered hat, visions of pain-filled blue eyes dancing through his brain. "We are going to go rescue him."

"But that is not foretold!" Pike protested. "I am to take you…"

"I do not care," Spock interrupted. "Jim would not be a captive if it had not been for me."

"But the Frabjous day is almost upon us! You must prepare to meet the Jabberwocky!" Pike objected.

Spock scowled. "This is no different from being at home on Vulcan. Someone is always telling me what I must do, who I must be, what I must feel… I have been shrunk, stretched, scratched, and stuffed into a teapot. I have been accused of being the Vulcan who will save this land, and of being an imposter. But this is my vision, and I shall decide how it goes from here," Spock declared.

"If you diverge from the path…" Pike began.

"I make the path," Spock said shortly. Pike bowed his head, then reached down to pick Spock up, settling him on his shoulder. Spock nodded in approval. "Take me to Salazen Grum. And don't forget the hat."

Pike obediently grabbed the hat and then hurried off at a fast jog across the Underland plains and through the red scorched desert. The castle seemed to rise up before them like a vision from a horror movie. They approached a moat, filled with the heads of the executed.

"There is only one way across," Pike told Spock.

Spock winced at the appalling smell, but he began jumping across the moat on the floating heads. "Lost my muchness, have I?" he snarled, remembering Jim's words, so laced with betrayal. Reaching the other side of the moat at last, he stood still for a moment until the dry heaves stopped. Then he approached the wall, seeing a small crack just wide enough for him to slip through. He turned back to Pike. "Pike! The hat!"

Pike nodded, then spun like a discus thrower, hurling the hat over the castle walls. He waved, and Spock waved back and vanished into the crack in the wall, emerging in a garden. Hearing some noises, he moved forward and spotted Nero, smacking around one of the red-liveried servants. The servant was just a child, a little girl with huge green eyes, sobbing miserably as the blows rain down on her. Then Nero picked her up by the collar and hurled her into the bushes, nearly crushing Spock. Spock dodged the falling child, then hurried to her side. Her hands had been bound, and Spock quickly moved to untie her. The child whimpered helplessly and Spock murmured gentle reassurances.

"Where has the brat ended up? PAGE!" Nero bellowed.

Chekov, wearing a red tunic over his white uniform, hurried over. "Da, sir?" he called.

"Find that child. Bring her back here."

Chekov bowed and scurried into the bushes. Spock managed to free the girl, who quickly crawled away through the foliage. He stared up at Chekov, who had a disdainful look on his face.

"Vell! If it isn't the wrong Wulcan! Vat brings you here?"

"I have come for two reasons," Spock said. As Chekov leaned forward, Spock gave the boy a smart nerve pinch, but given his small size, it only made Chekov yelp in surprise and pain. "That is for tricking me here."

"You…!" Chekov yelped. "Hikaru vill take your head if dere is bruise," he groused.

"There is no bruise," Spock said with a sigh.

"Vat vas other reason?" Chekov asked, still rubbing his neck.

"I am going to rescue Jim," Spock told him.

"You vill not rescue anyone being the size of a mouse," Chekov said with a sniff.

"What about the cake? The sort that made me grow? Do you have some?" Spock asked.

"Upelkuchen? I might at dat…" Chekov muttered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a slice. Spock grabbed it and ate it in a few quick bites. "Not all of it!" Chekov yelped.

But it was far too late. The makeshift black pants and blue shirt that Jim had shipped up for him splintered apart as Spock grew to a tremendous size, reaching fully eight feet tall and quite nude, though hidden behind the bushes, so only Chekov saw him, and the Russian rabbit put his hands over his eyes, muttering in Russian as he backed away.

King Nero strode forward with some other Romulans. "And WHAT is this?"

"Dat is a 'who', Majesty… He is…" Chekov paused. "Um…"

"I am Umsir, a Romulan of Remus," Spock said quickly.

"What happened to your garments?"

"I outgrew them. I have most unfortunately been the victim of exposure to a certain toxic plant. Now I tower over everyone in Remus. I hoped to find a place at your court."

"A Romulan is always welcome in my court," Nero said with surprising graciousness. "Someone find him some clothes! Use the draperies if you must! You," he told Spock, "will be my new favorite." The Romulan courtiers looked furious and competitive.

Spock was soon clad in a Roman-style toga, and he was led into the throne room to sit next to King Nero. The King put his feet up on a cushion. "Anything you wish for, you need only ask," he said, turning his large round head and catching light that heightened his facial tattoos. He waved away the Romulan courtiers, then added, "You must meet my new courtesans. They're perfectly lovely. Ladies!"

The Tweedles came wandering in. Both were clad in red silk that hung off their curved frames enchantingly and they were bound together by a gold chain around their waists. Their faces have been painted with hearts and they look somewhat abashed and downtrodden, though not as much as one would expect being captive in such a palace.

"There you are, my lovelies. Aren't they enchanting? And they have the most amusing way of speaking. Speak, my dear girls!" Nero waved at them. They stared blankly, so he leaned forward and slapped Christine across the face. "You will speak when I tell you!"

Christine looked up and saw Spock, and she pinched Gaila. "Is that being…?"

Spock lifted an eyebrow, and Gaila lifted her eyebrows in return. "No, it isn't. Not a bit," she told Christine. But the other girl hadn't understood Spock's gesture and was quite lost.

"Contrariwise, I believe it is so…"

"No, it ain't so nohow!" Gaila hissed, kicking her friend. Christine kicked back, and they were soon shoving and pinching each other while Nero laughed.

"Aren't they lovely? Now, get out!"

As they leave, Spock saw Gaila mouthing Jim's name in his direction, and he realized that she knew exactly why he was here. Then Gary Mitchell walked in and Nero's face lit up. Gary Mitchell managed a smile that looked more like a wince.

"Gary! There you are! Any luck with the prisoner?"

"He's… stubborn," Gary said at last.

"You're too soft. Bring him in!" Nero snapped.

Several guards hurried off, and Gary Mitchell turned his attention to Spock. "And who is this…?" he asked, voice becoming low and seductive. He tried to grab Spock's hand, but the touch telepath pulled back quickly.

"Umsir, my new favorite," Nero said coolly and disdainfully. If he was trying to rouse Gary's jealousy, it was not working.

"And does he have a name?" Gary asked, his eyes going dark with lustful interest.

"Umsir," Nero said.

"Yes? His name?" Gary asked.

Nero's eyes narrowed dangerously. "It's Umsir!"

"I believe that your name has slipped our king's mind…" Gary said with a disarming grin. This changed to a wince as Nero backhanded him hard.

"His name is UMSIR, you idiot!" he growled.

Gary Mitchell straightened himself out, his smoldering good looks momentarily overshadowed by equally smoldering anger. Then it melted away perfectly and he bowed to Spock. "Gary Mitchell, at your service." Again he moved to grab Spock's hand to kiss it, but Spock jolted away.

At that moment, Jim was dragged in by guards. The young man's golden-blonde hair was even more tousled and gravity-defying (if such a thing were possible), and he had a black eye and blood on the corner of his lip. He saw Gary Mitchell standing before Spock and those blue eyes glimmered with unspoken rage. Spock's eyes met his and the Vulcan's lips parted, wanting to call out to the human but not knowing why.

"We know that a Vulcan had entered Underland again. Do you know where he is?" Nero demanded imperiously.

Jim's eyes had taken on a blank dreamy quality and he didn't seem to have heard the question. Nero scowled and struck him upside the head. Jim's head moved easily with the blow, and he suddenly flashed his devastating smile. "I've been considering things that begin with the letter M… moron, mutiny, murder, malice…"

"We're looking for a V word now. Where is the Vulcan?" Nero demanded.

Jim's eyes rolled up in his head a little. "I'm sure I have no idea."

"What if I take off your head, will you know then?"

Jim burst into hysterical laughter and he couldn't seem to make it stop.

Nero glared. "Stop that."

Jim kept laughing and didn't stop, even when Nero slapped him again. His face was quite red, but then his frantic blue eyes met Spock's cool but pleading brown ones and he swallowed his hysteria at last. "My, what a regrettably large cue-ball of a head you have. I should very much like to hat it."

"Hat it?" Nero repeated.

"Yes. I used to hat the White Queen, you know, but there wasn't very much for me to work with, poor dear."

"Do not mention the White Queen in my presence, she is insignificant and powerless now," Nero said dismissively.

"But this… What I could do with this monument, this orb, nay, this magnificent heroic globe!" Jim exclaimed grandly.

"What could you do?" Nero asked. Jim shrugged, lifting his manacled hands with a raised eyebrow. Nero gestured to Gary Mitchell. "Unbind him, Gary. How can he work if his hands are bound?"

The manacles were unlocked at once and Jim pranced up to the king, circling him like a vulture. "Shall it be a bonnet or a boater, or something for the boudoir? A cloche, dunce hat, death cap, coif, snood, barbooshe, or pugree, yarmulke, cockle-hate, pork-pie, tam o'shanter, billy-cock, bicorn, tricorn, bandeau, fan-tail, night cap, garibaldi, fez…" His voice grew faster and faster as he spoke until he could barely be understood, never taking a single breath.

Spock faked a cough. "Jim!"

Jim's head jerked up at his name and his eyes flickered onto Spock's for a moment. There was some deep-seated emotion in there that Spock simply couldn't place. "I'm fine. I'm fine," Jim said hastily.

Nero waved a hand to Gary and Spock. "Leave us!"

Gary Mitchell hesitated, glowering at Jim. But he followed Spock, and as soon as they were out of the room and around the corner, he grabbed the Vulcan's shoulder and forced him against the nearest wall.

"I am very interested in you, Umsir. I like them large." The smile on his face was quite lewd, and he didn't notice one of the Romulan courtiers step around the corner, see them, and vanish with a smirk. He was too busy trying to kiss Spock, but the Vulcan was much stronger, even without the extra size, and he threw the human off.

"Do not touch me again," he exclaimed coldly before hurrying off.

Far away, outside the castle Marmoreal, Christopher Pike hurried across the bridge to the White Queen, Uhura. She was a splendid-looking woman, with lovely black hair hanging in waves down her back and huge dark eyes. She wore a sparkling white dress and white gloves that contrasted deliciously with her chocolate skin, and she moved with an uncommon grace as she approached the exhausted bloodhound-man.

"What news, Christopher?" she asked.

"The Vulcan… Spock… He has returned to Underland," Pike said.

A smile, showing teeth as white as her dress, appeared on Uhura's face. "And where is he now?"

"In Salazun Grum. Forgive me for allowing him to divert from his destined path," Pike said, hanging his head in shame.

"But that is exactly where he will find the Vorpal Sword. We have our champion!" Uhura exclaimed delightedly. "Come, we will give you food and a bed for the night! You've done us proud this day!" And she led Pike into her castle.


	6. Tidal Waves of Emotion

A/N: I'm still overwhelmed by the positive response to this story. The view numbers for each chapter are insane, considering I'm posting around every five days or less at this point. I'd love to get more reviews, but knowing that people are reading it (and presumably enjoying it) is still very rewarding. Please continue to enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or Alice in Wonderland.

Chapter 5: Tidal Waves of Emotions

Spock prowled around Nero's gardens. Pushing aside some bushes, he found a certain battered top hat. Something resembling a smile appeared on his face as he leaned down to pick up the hat, carefully brushing it off. Then he turned and walked back to the castle.

Meanwhile, up in King Nero's chamber, the king himself stood on a balcony, looking out over his kingdom, watching the sunset. Gary Mitchell appeared next to him. Although Nero did not look at him, he knew the handsome human was there.

"You must find the Vulcan," he said. "Without the Jabberwocky, the White Queen's followers will rise against me. I must destroy the Vulcan in order to keep that from happening."

Gary stepped up close to him, but didn't actually touch the Romulan. "I cannot imagine you will ever be defeated, Majesty. You have been far superior to any other challenger that's ever attempted to challenge you."

"It gratifies me to hear you say that. Queen Uhura is a popular figure here in Underland. If too many more warriors go to her side… the battle may actually become interesting."

"Well, Majesty, isn't it better to be feared than loved?" Gary asked mildly.

"An intriguing philosophy. There may be something to your point of view. But I do not care if the rabble loves their White Queen… I don't need their approval. I have you." Nero placed his hand on Gary Mitchell's shoulder almost tenderly. He didn't seem to notice that the human didn't reply or meet his eyes.

Deep in another room of the castle, Jim was hard at work, making hats. He didn't even seem to notice as Spock stepped lightly into the room, his hands clasped behind his back.

"You are skilled at your trade," the Vulcan said softly.

Jim glanced up. "I gotta admit, it does feel nice to be doing this again. I never thought I'd miss working."

"It is a pity that you must make them for a king you despise," Spock said cautiously.

Jim said nothing for several moments. His eyes narrowed and two angry spots of color appeared on his cheeks. His passionate madness was all too obvious. "What's the hatter with me? The hatter… Hahahahahaha!" he laughed wildly. Suddenly the laughter gave way to rage and he threw himself at the hats he'd just designed, ripping them to shreds with his bare hands. Such naked emotion caught Spock off guard, hitting him like a tidal wave.

"Stop!" Spock exclaimed. "Stop!" He flew forward and before he knew what he was doing, he was taking Jim's face in his hands, forcing the young human to look at him. "Jim!" he exclaimed. And then with a rush, he felt Jim's emotions surge into him. Fear, guilt, anger… and longing. Not the longing for the world as he had once known it, or the longing to see the White Queen restored to her throne, but a deeper longing, more primal somehow, a longing that consumed every fiber of his being.

"Have you… any idea… why a raven is like a writing desk?" Jim asked, his voice small and strained. "I'm frightened. I don't like it in here… it's terribly crowded…" And Spock wondered what Jim was talking about, for the chamber was shockingly sparse... Was it possible that Jim was talking about inside of his own head? "Have I gone mad?" the young man continued.

Spock moved one hand to the human's forehead. "I am afraid so. You are entirely bonkers. But I shall tell you a secret… all the best people are."

Jim smiled, ducking his head a little. Spock had a suddenly impulse to stroke Jim's hair, but he resisted it and resolved to meditate on the origin of that desire.

"I have brought you something…" he said, pulling out the top hat he'd retrieved from the garden. Jim accepted the hat reverently, placing it rakishly atop his own head. Spock nodded approvingly. "You look yourself again."

Jim reached up to place his hands on Spock's shoulders, and for a wild moment, Spock thought Jim was going to embrace him. But then they heard Nero's booming voice. "Hat Man! Where are my hats? I am not a patient monarch!"

Jim blinked, shaking himself back into the present. "I'm told the king keeps the Vorpoal Sword hidden in the castle. Find it, Spock. Take it to Queen Uhura. Help us make the world right again… Please." He started to step away from Spock, and for the first time Spock noticed that Jim's ankles were shackled with a thick gold chain.

"Do not despair, Jim. We shall take it to the White Queen together," Spock said with a serenity he did not quite feel at the moment. Jim smiled up at him boyishly.

"Why is it you're always too small or too tall?" he asked impishly. Spock lifted an eyebrow and hurried out of the room.

Only a few minutes later, he found Gaila and Christine in the hallways. The girls had their arms around each other's waists and they watched the Vulcan approach with identical smiles.

"Ladies," Spock said lightly.

"Spock!" they sang out cheerfully, reaching out to touch him. He waved off their wandering hands.

"Tell me… where is…?"

"How is it you're being so great big?" Christine demanded.

"He ain't great big. This is how he normal is," Gaila argued.

"Where is…" Spock tried to interrupt.

"I'm certain he was smaller when we met," Christine argued.

"He had drank the pishsalver to get through the door, recall it?" Gaila asked.

Spock scowled, his eyebrows drawing together ferociously. "Where is Chekov?"

"This way!" Gaila and Christine exclaimed, pointing in opposite directions. Spock put a hand to his forehead, muttering in exasperation.

The trio hurried along the hallways of the castle. Eventually they spotted Chekov, who was passionately locking lips with Sulu the Dormouse. They jerked apart at the approaching footsteps, both blushing and wild-eyed.

"What are you doing here?" Spock asked Sulu.

"Rescuing Chekov, and Jim," Sulu replied.

"I'M rescuing Jim," Spock snarled, a surge of possessiveness bursting through him like lightning. "But I do require help. He told me that the Vorpal Sword is hidden in the castle. That means someone must have seen it! Hurry and ask the servants. The Romulans may be loyal to Nero, but the humans are not. They will be willing to help."

Gaila and Christine hurried off, but Sulu and Chekov still stood before him. Sulu crossed his arms, glaring at Spock. "I don't take orders from some green-blooded…"

"Go!" Spock snarled, his expression suddenly dangerous.

Chekov's rabbit ears lowered meekly. "I already know vere da sword is…"

"Why did you not tell me at once?" demanded Spock.

"I thought you'd give me nerve pinch again! Your fingers are much bigger dan last time!" the young Russian said, eyes huge and innocently frightened. Sulu snarled and glared at Spock.

"I would not do such a thing," Spock said icily. "Now take me to the sword."

The trio hurried out to the stables. Chekov's ears pointed to the dark and forbidding doors. "Inside," he said simply.

Spock wrenched open the doors with a loud creak. Then he recoiled as the horrid smell hit him. "I know that smell…" he muttered to himself. Then he looked inside, and this time he visible recoiled, seeing the Bandersnatch asleep on the floor, moaning in its sleep as its empty eye socket oozed blood. "I cannot go in there!" Spock exclaimed, frustration creeping through his stoic demeanor. "Look what that thing did to my arm!" he exclaimed, holding out the injured arm, the bandages stained green with blood.

Chekov flinched when he saw the swollen and oozing wound. "Vhy hawe you not mentioned dis before?" he gasped.

"The injury was not so severe before," Spock replied, glancing at the wound with distaste. Then he turned, and the three of them headed back to the castle.

Spock retreated to the room where Jim was still being held. The Hatter stared at him for a moment. "Something is different now. You have a plan at last."

"I have the beginnings of a plan," Spock agreed. "I must meditate on this further though."

"Of course, it wouldn't be like you to jump into something hastily," Jim agreed. Spock shot him a questioning glance, but sat in the corner and began to meditate without speaking to Jim further.

A few hours later, the Vulcan rose abruptly to his feet and walked to the door, leaving Jim staring after him. A few moments of wandering the halls brought Spock to Sulu's side. "Mr. Sulu, do you by chance still have the Bandersnatch eye?" he asked.

"Of course I do," Sulu said, pulling the thing out of his pocket.

"I have need of it."

"Ha! Get your own! I earned this," Sulu said.

"I need that eye," Spock insisted.

"Come and get it," Sulu replied, drawing his sword. Spock scowled.

"I am a pacifist. I will not fight you over something this trivial."

"Good, then I'll win with ease," Sulu exclaimed, charging towards him. Spock sidestepped the attack and was soon dodging blows that seemed to materialize from every side.

Christine and Gaila clapped and cheered the two men on. Then Chekov appeared. "Hikaru! Vat are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

Spock dodged another thrust, ducked around Sulu's outstretched arm, and snatched the eyeball from Sulu's pocket, then darted out of the Dormouse's reach. "Ha!" he exclaimed, giving away to emotion once again. He'd been doing that a lot since he'd arrived in Underland. Sulu just shook his head, watching the Vulcan hurry off.

Down at the stables, Spock opened the doors to the Bandersnatch's stall again. The creature growled ferociously at him. Spock approached with caution. "I am in possession of your missing eye," he said softly, holding it out in front of him. The Bandersnatch made a curious whining noise. Spock rolled the eye across the floor to the creature, who picked it up, quite distracted from Spock's presence.

Spock took that opportunity to move to the back of the stall to the battered-looking chest. It was locked of course. Spock attempted to force the lock, but it was no use. Then a rush of dizziness overtook him, and he slumped next to the chest. He rolled up his sleeve to look at the wound, which had turned a whole host of nasty colors. He slumped further against the chest, feeling the dizziness claiming him as his world went dark.

Back in the castle, King Nero sat gracefully on a stool, allowing Jim to try several hats on him while Romulan courtiers crooned words of flattery and praise. Jim glanced around at the way they stood, and he realized they did not obey Nero out of any sort of loyalty towards a fellow Romulan, but rather because they feared his incredible strength. He couldn't help but chortle with laughter.

"Never mind him, he's mad," Nero said tiredly.

Another courtier, the one who had seen Gary Mitchell with Spock, rushed over, murmuring softly in Nero's ear. Nero's bored expression vanished and his dark eyes blazed with an inescapable rage.

"MITCHELL!" he roared.

A/N: Am I the only one who found the image of Chekov with lowered rabbit ears unbearably adorable? *swoon*


	7. Unmasking and Condemnation

A/N: Oh my god, I think my brain is going to explode. I have updated all of my in-progress fics, all five of them, within the last few days, and I cannot think anymore. I may have to take a short break from my writing. We'll see, maybe a few hours of TV will bring my brain back into working order. And it should be noted that I love McCoy in this chapter... Anyways, reviews are always appreciated, and I will try to update soon!

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or Alice in Wonderland.

Chapter 6: Unmasking and Condemnation

Spock blinked awake, finding himself still in the Bandersnatch's stall. The creature was looming over him and Spock felt a trickle of fear race through his body. The creature had managed to slip its missing eye back into the socket and it rolled about in an alarming way. Even as Spock shuddered away from the hot and foul breath, he noticed a key hanging from a chain around the creature's neck, and he guessed that it would fit the lock of the chest he was still leaning against.

Spock tentatively reached out for the key. The creature sniffed at the wound on Spock's arm, the wound that it had inflicted just two days before. Trying to smother his distaste, Spock grabbed the key just as the Bandersnatch's tongue flicked out of its mouth and began to lick at his injury. The tongue was surprisingly soothing and Spock allowed his eyes to close as he enjoyed the gentle sensation. Then the creature took a step back and Spock opened his eyes to see that the wound was now clean and no longer swollen. He moved it tentatively and felt no pain. He looked up at the Bandersnatch at last.

"I suppose you think this makes us even now," he said mildly. The creature made a grumbling noise and curled up against a wall a short distance away. Spock unlocked the chest and lifted out the Vorpal sword almost reverently, the silver blade glimmering in the morning light. Jumping to his feet, he dashed out of the stable towards the castle.

Inside King Nero's throne room, Gary Mitchell was on his knees, begging the king to spare his life. "Umsir forced his attentions on me, my king. I told him that my heart belongs only to you, but he would not listen. He is quite obsessed with me."

King Nero scowled, a dull green flush appearing on his cheeks. "Off with his head," he snarled.

Back in the room where Jim was being held captive, Sulu was struggling to remove the chain, muttering the whole time about how McCoy was going to kill him if Jim wasn't with them when they returned to the White Queen's castle. Spock stepped into the room, holding the sword aloft.

"Stand aside, Mr. Sulu," he said calmly. Then he looked over at Jim. "How is this for 'muchness'?" He started to swing the sword towards the chains around Jim's ankles.

"Stop!" Jim yelped, holding up his hands. "That sword mustn't be used for anything but…"

Gary Mitchell strode in with several other knights. He pointed to Spock. "Arrest that man for unlawful seduction!" he exclaimed.

Jim looked horrified.

"Jim!" Sulu exclaimed. He tossed a decorative sword to Jim and the pair of them started fighting the knights and trying to defend Spock. Spock lifted the sword to try to help.

"No!" Jim cried out. "Take it to the White Queen!"

"I will not leave here without you!" Spock shouted.

"You damn stubborn Vulcan bastard…" Sulu began. Then he froze.

Gary Mitchell and all the knights turned to stare at Sulu. Then they turned to stare at Spock. "So it is you…" Gary Mitchell muttered, looking suddenly delighted.

"RUN!" Jim and Sulu both shouted. Spock ran.

"Seize him!" Gary Mitchell shouted. He and the knights ran after Spock. Before too long, they had him completely surrounded in the courtyard outside Nero's castle. Spock managed to hold them at bay with the sword.

"The Vulcan… of course! Why didn't I see it? Well, it has been such a long time…" Gary Mitchell mused. "And you were such a little tyke back then. Now, give me the sword."

"Stay back!" Spock exclaimed.

"Our king will be so pleased… He wanted to remove your head himself. It will give him tremendous pleasure."

Just as two knights grabbed for Spock, a thunderous growl could be heard and the Bandersnatch raced into the fray, snapping and snarling at the knights around him. The creature ran up to Spock and lowered his head, a clear invitation to climb on, much to the astonishment of all the onlookers.

As Spock leapt onto the creature's back and raised the sword triumphantly, he couldn't help but shout the words of Jim, Sulu, and McCoy from that tea party that seemed a lifetime ago. "Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid!" And with that, the Bandersnatch took off running across the open drawbridge and onto the surrounding moors.

As they ran, Christopher Pike appeared on a nearby hill. He waved and called out to them. "Ho there, Mr. Spock!"

"Mr. Pike!" Spock called out, saluting the bloodhound with his sword. "To Marmoreal!"

Sometime later, the motley crew was dashing across the drawbridge into the castle of the White Queen. The throne room was light and airy, with sunlight streaming in and breezes dancing through the room. Spock approached a suit of armor of purest white, holding the sword reverently.

"Welcome," a rich clear voice called out, "to Marmoreal."

Spock looked up and saw the beautiful queen. She seemed to be almost an apparition, with only her coffee-colored face and a few inches of her arms visible between the white of her gown and gloves and the white of the walls around her. Her ebony-black hair was done up perfectly on top of her head. She almost floated down to approach Spock. He bowed and held out the sword to her. She took it and placed it reverently in the hand of the suit of armor.

"The Vorpal sword is home again," she called out, her white teeth sparkling. "The armor is complete. Now all we need… is our champion." She glanced mildly at Spock, who didn't meet her eyes. "I am Queen Uhura of Underland. It is wonderful to see you again. You're quite a bit taller than I thought you'd be."

"Blame it on too much Upelkuchen," Spock said with a shrug.

Uhura had an amused smile on her face. "Come with me."

They stepped into the kitchen just as a pepper mill came flying across the room, slamming into the wall next to the door and shattering, spraying a fine dusting of black powder everywhere.

"Is Dr. McCoy around?" Spock asked mildly. "I have met many illogical creatures in the land, but he is certainly one of the most illogical."

"You're late for soup!" McCoy shouted, flinging an entire pot of soup against the wall. Spock reached out to taste it. He licked his finger thoughtfully.

"Could use salt."

"What do you expect?" McCoy bellowed. "I'm a doctor, not a chef!" He hurled a salt shaker at the wall, managing to salt the soup. Spock took another taste and then nodded his approval.

Trying to cover her amusement, Uhura stepped gracefully over to a small table with different odd ingredients and a little cauldron.

"Pishalver… let me think…" she murmured. "Two cups grape juice, a pinch of wormfat… My mother taught me how to concoct all the medicinal cures and transformational potions when I was a young child," she told Spock with a smile. "A teaspoon of vanilla, the urine of a horsefly, buttered fingers…" She smiled almost wickedly as she held up the jar of unnaturally long and shriveled fingers. "Tell me, how does the usurper king seem to you?"

"Perfectly horrid," Spock admitted.

"Hm," Uhura sighed. "He is such a vengeful beast. When he appeared out of nowhere, so furious over wrongs that don't appear to have happened yet… he has torn this kingdom nearly to pieces, and for what? Vengeance over a future event? Let me see… Three coins from a dead man's pocket, two tablespoons of Wishful Thinking…"

"I do not think you truly understand what goes on in that palace," Spock told her.

"Oh, but I do," Uhura said ruefully. "But when a champion steps forth to slay the Jabberwocky, the people will rise against him." She spat into the mixture in front of her and gave it a few more stirs. "That should do it." She dipped a spoon into the concoction and held it out to Spock. "Blow."

Spock stared skeptically at the mixture, then hesitantly blew on it and sipped the spoonful. In a moment, he'd shrunk back to his normal size.

"Feel better?" Uhura asked with a sympathetic smile.

"Much, thank you," Spock told her.

"Excellent. Now, there's someone here who would like to speak with you," she told him, leading the way out of the kitchen.

Back in the Red King's castle, Gary Mitchell knelt in front of Nero. "Your Majesty, the Vulcan has escaped."

"He has been within the walls of my palace?" Nero exclaimed, striking Gary upside the head.

Gary Mitchell nodded. "On the Bandersnatch."

Nero cuffed him again, hard enough to make him sway on his feet.

Mitchell gritted his teeth to deliver the final blow. "With the Vorpal sword."

This time, Nero hit the human hard enough to send him sprawling. "How could you let this happen?" he roared.

"I may have underestimated him. But we have his conspirators. The captive hatter and a dormouse."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Nero asked. "Off with their heads!"

Down in the dungeons of the Red Castle, several students and teachers wearing Starfleet Academy uniforms huddled miserably together for warmth. Jim and Sulu were in a cell nearby. Both looked haggard and exhausted.

"Hatter!" Gary Mitchell exclaimed, striding in. Jim didn't respond, even when a knight prodded him with a sharp stick.

"Don't bother, sir… He's round the bend," one of the knights informed the knave of hearts.

"Pity," Mitchell sighed. "It's a bore to behead a madman. No weeping, no begging…"

One of the Starfleet instructors chose to interrupt them then. "Why are you keeping us here? We've done nothing wrong! At least let the students go!"

"Blame your headmaster, Mr. Pike. He left you here to rot and has run off to save his own skin," Gary Mitchell told her.

"You lie!" she exclaimed, and the other students and teachers began throwing whatever they could lay their hands on at the knave to show their support for Pike. As Mitchell backed away from the projectiles, he ventured too close to Jim, who grabbed the man around the neck, squeezing as hard as he could. Although many red knights struck at him, he seemed to feel no pain and his eyes were alight with some strange madness. Finally he was forced backwards and Gary Mitchell collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath.

"Your head comes off at dawn!" he managed to croak, glaring at Jim's baleful blue eyes. "And that one too!" he added, pointing at Sulu.

Jim's eyes widened in horror and he instantly put on a show of contrition. "Nay, gentlemen, this isn't necessary. He's of no consequence. I'm the ringleader here. You ought to let him go. I'll give you all an entertaining execution. I can beg, grovel, weep, etc., whatever you like!"

Sulu scowled, not about to let Jim lay down his life so easily. "Downal wyth th Bluddy Begh Hid!" he exclaimed, striking out at Gary Mitchell. The furious knave glared at the pair of rebels.

"Have a pleasant night," he said coldly, turning and leaving. Jim and Sulu exchanged glances as the reality of the situation really began to sink in. At dawn, they were going to die.


	8. The Glorious Escape

A/N: I know I'm not supposed to toot my own horn, but I freaking LOVE this chapter... I really really do, this is absolutely my favorite chapter! It's kind of batshit insane, with Absolem/Spock Prime being weird, there's the epic awesomeness of Jim Kirk and Scotty, there's a little bit of Chulu because I can, damnit! And there's some really fun stuff at the end that explains a little bit of what's been going on so far, but I'm not gonna say any more right now. Just read it, this chapter is too awesome to be boiled down in an author's note. So please enjoy the chapter, and please review if you like it even half as much as I do!

Disclaimer: Don't own Star Trek (I had to type that three times because I kept typing Stark Trek for some reason...) or Alice in Wonderland!

Chapter 7: The Glorious Escape

Outside the White Queen's castle, in a topiary garden, Spock could see a small plume of smoke rising over the hedges. For a moment, he felt some alarm, but Uhura showed no fear, and Spock realized that the smoke was too little to be from an uncontrolled fire. Spock approached the elderly man wrapped in voluminous blue robes and smoking from a hookah.

"Absolem?" he asked cautiously.

"Who are you?" the old man asked.

"I thought we had settled this already," Spock admitted. "I am a Vulcan, but not that one."

"How do you know?" the old man asked, blowing smoke in Spock's face and making him cough.

"You said so yourself," Spock reminded him between coughs.

"I said you were Not Hardly the Vulcan. But you are much more him now. In fact, you are almost the right Vulcan."

"Even so, I am still a pacifist," Spock said firmly, "and I could noy slay the Jabberwocky if my life depended on it."

"But it will," the old man said softly. "So I suggest you keep the Vorpal sword on hand when the Frabjous Day arrives."

Spock glared at him. "I suggest that you explain to me why you appear to be an older version of myself."

Absolem merely smiled a mysterious smile.

"You seem so real… Sometimes I forget that this is all some sort of hallucination, probably brought on my stress from recent events."

Absolem blew smoke into his face again. "T'Pring will only ever bring you grief."

"Please cease doing that," Spock said. Then he glanced sharply at the older man. "Wait, what did you just say?"

The man smiled at him and exhaled more smoke, enveloping himself in a cloud of the stuff and vanishing from sight. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.

Back in the Red King's dungeons, Jim sat morosely on the floor, straightening his clothes and brushing off his hat. He didn't look up as a certain bearded Scotsman with cat ears and a long cat tail materialized behind him out of thin air.

"I've all'ays admired tha' hat," Scotty told him.

"Hello, Scotty," Jim said, not really paying attention to him.

"Since ye won't be needin' it no more, might ye consider bequeathin' it t' me?"

Jim snorted. "It's a formal execution, mate, I want to look my best."

"It surely is a pity 'bout all this. I was lookin' for'ard t' seein' ye Futterwacken," Scotty said, hovering a few feet in the area so that he could recline on his back in midair.

"I was rather good at it," Jim admitted with a rueful grin.

Scotty vanished for a moment, reappearing inside the cell and floating on his stomach so that he could look into Jim's eyes.

"I really do love that hat. I'd wear it t' all th' finest occasions," he said with a devilish smile. Jim lifted an eyebrow and finally leaned forward to listen.

Several hours later, out in the courtyard, Jim and Sulu were escorted in chains up to the executioner. Gaila and Christine had their arms wrapped around Chekov, who was shaking and sobbing as he watched the condemned Sulu walk by with his head held high. Nero and Gary Mitchell watched everything from a balcony overlooking the plaza. Jim approached the chopping block first while three guards held Sulu in place. The Executioner moved to take Jim's hat off.

"I want to keep it on," Jim murmured, his voice barely audible even in the silence of the courtyard.

"Suit yourself," the Romulan executioner agreed. "As long as I can get at your neck."

Jim nodded his thanks and knelt, placing his neck lightly on the stone. He seemed shockingly, almost eerily calm about the whole thing.

"Courage, mate," Sulu hissed. "I'm right behind you." Then he looked up at the sky. "McCoy is going to kill me when he finds out I let this happen. Good thing I'll already be dead."

Chekov covered his eyes, whimpering softly. "I can't watch… I can't…"

The Executioner raised his sword. The silence in the courtyard was deafening. The sword fell… and the body vanished! Everyone gasped in shock. The sword hit the stone with a loud clang. Gaila and Christine gaped in disbelief.

"He's gone!" Gaila whispered.

"He was such a great friend," Chekov whimpered. "Oh god, I can't be here for Sulu…"

"LOOK!" Christine exclaimed, yanking on his long white ears so that he was looking up. The boy turned his tear-stained face up to see the hat floating in midair, no body attached to it, and he swore several times in Russian.

"I can't behead nobody if there's no body!" the Romulan swordsman exclaimed.

Then Scotty's head appeared, wearing the battered old hat. Then his body appeared and hovered several feet above the crowd, and he lifted the hat off his head and bowed gracefully.

"Scotty, you DOG!" Sulu exclaimed. Scotty just grinned. Then they all heard Jim's signature mad laugh, and they spotted him standing on the balcony behind Nero and Gary Mitchell.

"Your Majesty, your courtiers are playing you for a fool, especially that knave of yours. You should repent before it's too late!"

Nero's nostrils flared. "You insignificant madman, I'll have your head!"

Jim grinned. "You already tried that, and it didn't work so well, now did it?" And with that, he jumped up onto a flagpole and shouted out as loud as he could. "To the abused and enslaved of the Red King's court, stand up and fight! Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid!"

The humans at court threw down whatever they were carrying cheering and shouting. "Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid!" they screamed.

"Loose the Jubjub Bird!" Nero bellowed. There was a horrifying screech and the gigantic bird of prey swooped down to attack the crowd indiscriminately. Nero had a vengeful smile on his face as he watched the carnage. "You're right, Gary… It is far better to be feared than loved. Prepare the Jabberwocky for battle. We're going to visit that White Queen and settle this rebellion once and for all."

Jim leapt from his flagpole, knocking aside one of the guards that still held Sulu prisoner. Sulu turned right around and hit one of the others with his bound hands, and kicked the third one aside. Chekov ran over, nearly tackling Sulu in a relieved hug, and producing keys to his handcuffs. Then they grabbed Gaila and Christine and raced off through the castle.

Much later, as dusk began to fall, Uhura stood on a balcony overlooking the kingdom of Underland, watching the moors. Pike and Spock stood with her. The beautiful queen sighed morosely. "I had hoped to have a champion by now…"

"Why do you not simply slay the beast yourself?" Spock asked. "You must have the power."

"My power lies in the healing arts. It is against my vows to bring harm to any living thing," Uhura told him gently. A bug flew past her face and a look of distaste crossed her face for a just a moment before she shooed it away and smiled sweetly. Then she lifted her spyglass, peering into the distance. "Ah! We have company!" she gasped, handing the glass over to Spock and started down the stairs to the gate.

Spock put the glass to his eye and peered though. His heart leapt with joy upon seeing Jim, alive and well and stepping lightly up the hills. Sulu and Chekov were with him, arms happily around each other. Gaila and Christine were dancing up the path, apparently singing though he could not make out the words. "Mr. Pike, see for yourself," he said, handing over the glass.

Pike peered through and spotted the newly-freed teachers and students from his school. He jumped into the air, clapping and practically howling with delight. He dashed down to the gate while Spock followed at a more sedate pace. Uhura was cheerfully greeting everyone while Pike checked on his students and teachers. Spock found himself approaching Jim.

"I am… most gratified to see that you are well," he said at last. "I thought… I thought they were going to…"

"So did I!" Jim exclaimed, talking much too fast and with a slightly maniac gleam in his eye. "But they didn't! Here I am… still in one piece… and I'm rather glad about that now that I'm seeing you again… I would have regretted not seeing you again… especially now that you're the proper size… it's a good size… just right, in fact… a right proper size for a Spock…"

"Jim," Spock said gently, trying to settle him down.

Jim jerked backwards, blinking in puzzlement. "I'm fine!" he gasped, leaning back against the wall a little.

"Where is your hat?" Spock asked at last.

Scotty materialized next to them, the hat perched rakishly upon his head, and a mischievous smile on his face.

"Mr. Scott?" Spock asked.

"How's th' arm, mate?" Scotty asked.

"All healed," Spock said. After a grudging moment, he held the arm out for inspection. Scotty nodded happily, then noticed Jim glaring at him. Scotty sighed and removed the hat with a flourish.

"Goodbye, sweet hat…" he sighed morosely. Jim snatched it back and brushed it off gently, then returned it to his own head with a flourish and a slightly smug smile.

Later that night, Spock was sitting alone on a high tower, staring out at the land surrounding the castle. He heard soft footsteps behind him and somehow knew instinctively that Jim had come to join him.

"Do you know why a raven is like a writing desk?" Jim asked softly, somehow knowing that he wouldn't surprise Spock by speaking.

"A riddle…" Spock mused. "Mental exercises are very beneficial to maintain an active mind. Let me think about it for a moment."

"You do know what tomorrow is," Jim said.

"The Frabjous day. How could I forget?" Spock asked. He closed his eyes. "I wish this hallucination would end before I am forced into this endeavor."

"You still think this is some sort of dream?" Jim asked.

"Well, it cannot possibly be real. This whole world is absurd, as are the people in it. It is all most illogical that such things would come from my own mind."

"If it's all in your head…" Jim began hesitantly, "then… that would mean that I'm not real."

"No… I am sorry to say that. You must be just a figment of my imagination, although I cannot think why I would dream up someone who is as mad as you."

"But you'd have to be somewhat mad to dream me up," Jim pointed out."

"I must be then," Spock said with a tiny half-smile. Jim sat down next to him and leaned into Spock's shoulder. The half-Vulcan allowed the contact for reasons he could not have adequately explained. After a few moments, he recalled the beginning of the conversation. "I give up. Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," said Jim with one of his sweet endearing grins.

Spock couldn't help but smile back. Then the smile faded away from his face as he regarded those friendly accepting blue eyes. For reasons he couldn't fathom, this strange mad human made him feel… liked. Wanted. Needed, even. It was something he'd never felt while on Vulcan with his family. He'd always been isolated because of his human blood. His father was cold and emotionless, his mother was dead, his brother was banished, and his future bondmate didn't even want to allow their minds to touch. But this human deliberately sought out his company, tried his best to protect him, even gave up his own freedom to ensure Spock's safety, and they barely knew each other. It was illogical… yet gave Spock a jolt of pleasure he hadn't felt since his mother had been alive.

"I will miss you when I wake up," he said suddenly, a sadness creeping through the very core of his being. Jim's eyes seemed to cloud with some hidden pain and he looked down at his hands. Spock put his arm around the human's slender shoulders, drinking in the contact, and Jim relaxed against him, clearly deciding to just accept the contact while it was available. And before either of them knew it, it was the dawn of the Frabjous Day.

Down in the courtyard of the White Queen's castle, Chekov blew a trumpet and called out to the assembled soldiers. "Who will step forth to be champion for the White Queen?" he called.

Jim strode forward, looking much more relaxed and healthy than he'd appeared in quite some time. "That would be I!"

"Ye've got very poor evaporatin' skills," Scotty said with a sniff. "I should be th' one."

"No, me!" Gaila called out. Christine shoved her aside.

"No, me!" The two girls glared at each other.

Chekov held up the Oraculum and they all crowded around to see the illustration showing a pointy-eared man battling and slaying the Jabberwocky. Everyone stood still, so quiet they could hear a pin drop.

"No other slayer, nohow," Gaila said sadly.

"If it ain't a Vulcan… it ain't dead," Christine added just as sadly.

All of them turned to look at Spock, who froze under the scrutiny. His chest felt tight, just as tight as when he'd been expected to bind himself to T'Pring, knowing he was condemning himself to a hellish life but unable to think of a way out of that predicament.

Uhura took a half-step towards Spock. "Spock, you cannot live your life to please others. The choice… must be yours, because when you step out to face that creature… you will step out alone."

Spock couldn't speak, could not even breathe. Overwhelmed by the situation, he turned and strode off at a fast clip. He found himself in the topiary garden and he threw himself down on a bench, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

"Nothing was ever accomplished with such blind panic," a voice said nearby.

Spock turned and looked around wildly. "Absolem?"

"Here," the elderly man said, appearing almost out of nowhere to sit next to Spock.

"I… fail to understand your purpose," Spock said at last. The older man smiled suddenly.

"Can you not see the resemblance between us?"

"Of course I can," Spock said with a frown. "But why?"

"Because…" the old man said softly, trying to lend as much weight to his words as possible, "I… am… you."

"That is certainly impossible," Spock said.

"Well, a version of you from the future," the older man amended.

"I do not understand."

"Of course you do not. It is tremendously complicated, but I can assure you that nothing but pain and misery await you in the world that you call home. I lived through all of it before finally finding my way here, and this place has been pure bliss. Of course, this is not quite the Underland I knew before, thanks to Nero, but that is of no consequence, for you will defeat him and put things right." With that, he stood up and started to step away, long blue robes floating around him.

"Do not go!" Spock pleaded, suddenly frightened of his departure. "I need advice. I… I do not know what to do."

"I cannot help you if you do not truly understand who you are," Absolem said a little sadly. "I had hoped that you would not be such a fool when you arrived here."

"I am no fool," Spock exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "My name is Spock, and I live on Vulcan. I have a father named Sarek and a brother named Sybok. My mother was named Amanda and she was the most patient and understanding woman in the world for putting up with me and the other Vulcans. I am her son." His eyes seemed to widen a little as he spoke. "I am Spock and I am the first human-Vulcan hybrid."

"At last… you are ready," Absolem said with a fond smile. "You were not particularly bright the first time you arrived here. I was actually ashamed to realize that you were a past version of myself. But then I suppose your foolishness can be explained away by the fever you were suffering. You even insisted on calling this place Wonderland…"

Spock blinked. "Wonderland…"

And like that, a flood of memories came rushing back into his brain. He remembered being a very young child, wandering dazedly through this strange and fantastic forest, weak and ill from the terrible fever that nearly took his life. Other creatures saw him, but seeing his sickness, they kept their distance from the child. He had wandered about all alone for hours, unable to find a way out of this absurd world. Finally he had collapsed onto the ground, so near death that he could not go on.

And then his savior had appeared. A young man with soft blonde hair and the deepest blue eyes he'd ever seen… Jim Kirk. This man had seen the suffering child and carried him back to a little house, despite the admonishments of the others in that village, begging him not to spread the sickness to them. Jim had ignored them all, putting the child in his own bed and caring for the boy with tenderness and compassion. His ministrations had brought Spock back from the brink of death… saving his life. That realization shook Spock to the core.

"It was not a hallucination… It was a memory. This place IS real! And so are you… and so is Jim." Somehow that knowledge was more glorious and wonderful than any other.

"And so is the Jabberwocky," Absolem reminded him. "Remember, the Vorpal Sword knows what it wants. All you have to do is hold on to it. Fairfarren, Spock. Perhaps… perhaps you will make the right decision for yourself down the line. And he stepped away and vanished in a puff of smoke and fluttering blue robes, leaving Spock staring after him and musing over what he'd just seen.

A/N: Ahhhhh, don't you just love what I did there? I was explaining to my friend Doom Kitty the plot of this story, and she started squealing when I told her about Jim and Spock. It was hilarious! Seriously, I'm curious, did anyone see this coming? Review and let me know! I won't be offended if did, unless your response is something like, "Yes you dumbass, it was perfectly obvious from six miles away, you'd have to be an idiot not to see it coming" because that's just unnecessarily rude. But if you did see it coming, or if I totally surprised you, I want to know because I'm genuinely curious!


	9. Triumphant Battle

A/N: Oh my god, you guys have no idea how amazing it is that I'm posting at all! My laptop is slowly trying to die and yesterday the charger decided to just break and die and my battery sucks so the laptop just freaking DIED! And all my fanfics and all my outlines and everything were locked inside it and I was losing my damn mind! But my amazing fiance went digging around in the basement and found a spare charger and it works (so it was just the charger that broke, not the computer itself) and the thing doesn't fit so he taped it to my damn laptop and it's alive for now! Yay! I have backed up this fic on my Amazon Cloud Drive, so there will be no further issues even if it dies again. But yeah, I've known I needed a new laptop for a while now, but this is insane. I swear to god, the second I find a job, every cent of my first paycheck or two is going towards a brand-new laptop!

Anyways, here's the next chapter! I'm so happy I didn't lose it cuz it was almost done... I might have posted it yesterday if this hadn't happened. Oh well. As usual, please enjoy my latest chapter, and reviews are my favorite thing ever!

Disclaimer: Don't own Star Trek or Alice in Wonderland!

Chapter 8: Triumphant Battle

Down in the desert, King Nero and Gary Mitchell rode across the land on fine black horses, with the King's army marching along behind them. The JubJub bird flew above them, and higher still was a monstrous winged beast whose features could not be clearly seen.

Back at the White Queen's castle, everyone was preparing to march off. Just before they could leave, the Bandersnatch came racing out, with Spock astride the creature. He was wearing the white armor and holding the Vorpal Sword high. Everyone cheered, joyous and relieved. But the cheers stopped as a massive shadow swooped overhead.

"It's coming!" McCoy exclaimed, grabbing Jim's coat and looking around.

Spock held his head higher. "To the Tulgey Wood," he called out, and the army followed.

Sometime later they arrived at a strange landscape that looked like a chess board with a massive ruined structure to one side. The two armies faced each other.

Uhura curtsied to Nero. "Hello, Nero," she said pleasantly.

"Uhura," Nero said with a jerk of his head.

Chekov stood between them and blew his trumpet. "On dis the Frabjous Day, the Red King and the White Queen shall send forth der champions to do battle on der behalf."

"Nero…" Uhura hissed. He glanced at her. "We don't have to fight."

"I know what you're doing… trying to butter me up with those gigantic pretty eyes, thinking I'll melt and give you whatever you want," Nero snapped.

"I don't even need the crown, we just need to make some laws so that you stop mistreating my people… I cannot bear their suffering," Uhura exclaimed. "You don't have to give up all the power if that's what's holding you back."

"I will not talk to you anymore," Nero said. "Your sniveling annoys me. Jabberwocky!" he shouted to the sky.

A dark form appeared behind them. McCoy was shaking and twitching like a leaf. "Look up! It's here! Look up!" he screeched.

The Jabberwocky was a massive creature, dragon-like in every aspect. Its pronged tail flicked from side to side, deadly and ferocious.

"This… is impossible," Spock hissed.

"Only if you believe it is," Jim murmured. Spock hadn't even noticed the human appear next to him.

"How can I believe otherwise?" Spock asked.

"Perhaps you ought to try something I've found useful," Jim said. "Sometimes I believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

"How… intriguing…" Spock murmured.

"It's an excellent practice, although just at this moment, you may wish to amend it so you can focus on the Jabberwocky."

Spock stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled, possibly the first real smile he'd allowed himself to have since his mother's death.

"Where's your champion, my dear lady?" Nero asked Uhura.

Spock stepped forward. "Here." And he found himself staring up at the Jabberwocky, which roared so loudly that it actually shook the ground beneath Spock's feet. They eyed each other. Spock took a deep breath. "Six impossible things… One. There is a potion that can make you shrink. Two. And a cake that can make you grow.

Strangely this little exercise was helping him clear his head and he lifted the Vorpal sword high. The Jabberwocky saw the sword and lowered its head, snarling. "So, my old foe, we meet again on the battlefield."

Spock stared at the massive reptile. "We have never met."

"Not you, insignificant bearer," the Jabberwocky said disdainfully. "My ancient enemy, the Vorpal sword." His tongue flicked out. It, like the rest of him, was a spiked thing, sharp and deadly. Spock swung the sword instinctively and managed to cut off the creature's tongue, which fell to the ground with a wet noise.

"That is quite enough talk," Spock said mildly. The Jabberwocky could only make an incoherent snarling noise. Then it swung its pronged tail, knocking Spock right off his feet. He lay on the ground for a moment, winded. "Three… humans can have animal-like features and mannerisms," he muttered.

The Jabberwocky attacked again with the spiked tail and Spock was forced to roll quickly out of the way. He pushed himself to his feet, wishing he was more skilled in combat like this.

"Four… Four, Spock… Think… I have seen a human that can disappear and travel through solid objects," he decided at last.

"Spock! Watch your head!" Jim shouted. Spock ducked just in time to avoid the Jabberwocky's snapping jaws.

"Five… there is a place called Underland," he muttered. The creature attacked with long curved claws and Spock was able to deflect them. "Six." He straightened up. "I can defeat the Jabberwocky." He swung the sword and engaged the creature in battle again.

"Behind you!" Jim cried out.

Spock turned and claws scraped the back of his armor. He nearly fell under the onslaught. "I assure you, I can manage," he called back.

Nero scowled. "That hatter is interfering! Off with his head!" he shouted. Gary Mitchell strode forward, drawing his sword. Somehow Jim had a sword in his hands and the two began to duel. And soon chaos erupted around them.

…Pike and Sulu took on the JubJub bird while Sulu kept one hand on Chekov to make sure he was safe…

…Scotty disappeared and reappeared all over the battlefield, confusing the Romulan knights…

…The Bandersnatch attacked four knights at once, knocking them aside with his massive paws…

…Gaila and Christine fought back-to-back in perfect harmony with not a single argument between them…

…McCoy stood shivering until a Red Knight knocked him over, then a bloodlust appeared in his eyes and he fought with the ferocity of three warriors…

Spock dashed towards the stairs of the ruins, hoping to be able to fight the creature at its level. The Jabberwocky lashed out, knocking over parts of the stairs with its massive tail. Spock managed to dodge the blows and continued to leap and bound, even as the Jabberwocky slithered up to meet him. Seeing that Spock was running right into a trap, Jim knocked Gary Mitchell aside and stabbed the Jabberwocky's tail. The creature roared in pain and lashed out with its wounded tail. Jim dodged, so the creature bent down, attacking the hatter with claws and teeth alike. Spock finally reached the top of the ruins and saw that Jim was sacrificing himself to protect Spock yet again. He felt a horrible pain race through him, and then one more memory raced through his brain.

In his fevered state, the child Spock was aware of a soothing presence next to him and near his mind. Naturally Jim had no way of knowing about Spock's touch telepathy or how it would affect the young half-Vulcan, but Spock's delirious and fevered brain latched onto this comparatively cooler and more orderly oasis of a mind. And somehow in the process of Spock wanting more and more of this gentle and accepting and loving mind, and Jim being so willing to offer anything he could to ease the suffering of the child in front of him… somehow, a bond was created between the two. It was that bond as much as anything else that was able to save Spock's young life.

Eventually he was able to return home, and in the process of healing, his mind blocked off the bond to Jim, leaving Spock returning to health but with no memory of the formed bond. Meanwhile the same bond was left in Jim's head, and it hadn't been adequately explained to him before, and he'd had no idea what had been done to him. Shortly after this had been the disaster with Nero and the deaths of many of Jim's friends and companions. The twin traumas were too much for him to bear and his fragile human mind had snapped under the pressure. And it was the new realization that Spock was responsible for Jim's maddened state, and that he had the ability to heal him… this lent him a fire that he'd never felt before.

Staring down at Jim, prone on the ground before this terrifying beast, not able to move fast enough, Spock knew he had to save the human. Without thinking, he jumped from the top of those ruins, swinging the sword above his head.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" he shouted.

And with a single powerful blow, he sliced the Jabberwocky's head clean off and they hit the ground at the same instant, the reptile's jaws snapping a few more times as it died completely. Spock knelt on the ground, breathless and feeling a furious madness racing through his body. A red mist had appeared in his vision, but seeing Jim stand up, unharmed, sent the red mists slowly scattering.

Spock stood up and approached the Jabberwocky's head, picked it up and threw it at Nero's feet. "There is your champion. You have lost," Spock said flatly.

Nero looked stunned for a moment, then he pointed imperiously at Spock. "Kill him!" he shouted angrily.

The nearby Red Knights glanced at each other, then the nearest one threw down his weapon. "We follow you no more… bloody big head," he exclaimed.

Nero puffed himself up like a peacock. "How dare you! Off with his head!"

There was an almost painfully long silence, then the other Red Knights began to throw their weapons down too. As the clanging stopped, the crown floated up off the Red King's head. He tried to grab for it, but he couldn't reach as it floated over to land gently on Uhura's head, and Scotty materialized behind the beautiful queen, revealing that he was the one who had transported the crown. Uhura stood still for a moment as a bright white light seemed to appear around her and for a moment Spock thought he heard a lovely chorus of voices singing, but of course that was illogical.

"Nero of Romulus..." Uhura said. "Your crimes against Underland are worthy of death. But that is against my vows. Therefore, you are banished to the Outlands. No one is to show you any kindness or ever speak a word to you." She paused and her expression was filled with something very much like pity. "You will have not a friend in the world," she practically whispered.

Gary Mitchell crept forward meekly, bowing low before the glorious White Queen. "Majesty, I hope you bear me no ill will," he said in a soft weasel-like voice.

Uhura almost smiled down at the handsome man. He tried to smile at her. "Except this one," she said as Gary's smile faded. "Gary Mitchell, you will join Nero in banishment from this day until the end of Underland."

Some White Knights grabbed Gary and handcuffed him to Nero, who grabbed the good-looking human's arm.

"At least we have each other," the Romulan said to the human.

Gary Mitchell's eyes widened, and he pulled a knife out of his sleeve and tried to stab his former king. Nero's eyes widened as Jim managed to knock the knife away and Gary Mitchell knelt beseechingly before Uhura. "Kill me… please!" he cried out.

"But I do not owe you a kindness," Uhura said mildly as the pair was dragged away.

"You tried to kill me! YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!" Nero screamed as they were dragged off.

"Oh Frabjous Day! Callou! Callay!" Jim exclaimed, and he began to dance. His long limbs seemed to be everywhere at once and his body moved with a practiced grace although the dance was certainly the most unconventional thing Spock had ever seen in his life.

"What is he doing?" he asked Scotty.

"That be th' Futterwacken," Scotty said with a giant grin.

Jim reached out and grabbed Spock, pulling him into the dance as well. Spock stumbled for a moment, but he suddenly found that there was something almost predictable about the movements once he learned the rhythm and he was able to join Jim in this wild and joyous dance. When it finished and they wound up in each other's arms staring right at each other, Jim leaned forward and kissed him quickly on the lips.

Before Spock could quite figure out the proper reaction to this, and even as his brain thrummed with the confirmation that this was in fact his bondmate, Uhura approached them both holding a small glass vial with a few drops of red liquid in it. The liquid was the same color as the blood still leaking gently from the neck of the Jabberwocky.

"What is this?" Spock asked.

"Blood of the Jabberwocky. You have our everlasting gratitude. And for your efforts on our behalf…" She held out the vial for Spock to take.

"Will this… take me home?" Spock asked.

"If that is what you choose," the White Queen replied.

Spock lifted the vial up to stare into it. Then he looked into Jim's miserable and pleading eyes. "You could stay…" Jim suggested, his voice scarcely above a whisper.

"What an idea… a crazy, mad, illogical, wonderful idea…" He looked around at all of them, but then he thought of his father and brother, and he knew that he could not abandon his duties left behind, even though he felt that his heart was breaking over never seeing any of them again… especially Jim. "But I cannot… There are questions I have to answer. And things I still must do."

Spock closed his eyes, then touched Jim's forehead lightly, carefully building walls around their bond and sending soothing thoughts to heal the shattered mind. Jim shuddered at the mental invasion, nearly collapsing, and Spock lowered him gently to the ground.

"I would never have left if I had known about this… but I must attend to my duties," Spock murmured to his bondmate. McCoy approached, silently promising he would look after Jim once Spock departed. The Vulcan drank the contents of the vial quickly. "I will return again before you know it."

"You won't remember me…" Jim whispered, tears gathering in those painfully blue eyes.

"Of course I will… How could I forget?" Spock asked, wishing he had more words of comfort to offer the distressed human.

"Fairfarren, Spock…" Jim said even as he and the world around him began to fade away into the brightest of white light, then dissolved into nothingness.

A/N: Bam! A further twist in the relationship! Now who saw THAT coming? Ahahahaha! Naturally there will be another chapter, I'm not so cruel as to end this right here. Most likely I'll post the final chapter on Saturday. Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are loved as always!


	10. Epilogue: Things Once Left Unsaid

A/N: Well, here it is… the last chapter! I just wanted to thank everyone for the very kind and positive comments I've received for this story! Just at the moment, the only other Star Trek piece I've got planned is my angsty Chulu romance piece called Someone to Lean On, which I just posted the first chapter of not too long ago, so if you want to read more of my work, head in that direction! I'm a little nervous about it, it's the first really angsty thing I've ever tried to write…

Anyways, I've had a few people say that they would love if I'd do more movie fics (and you guys really have no idea how flattered I am that you want me to write more fanfics!). At the moment, I have no plans for that, but if anyone has any suggestions, I will happily consider it! I really enjoy writing movie fics, (and I think I'm getting better at it… this one is my favorite so far) and I would love to do another one, I just haven't thought about it yet so I have no ideas. Suggestions are encouraged! Anyways, thank you again for the support, enjoy the end of the fic, and reviews are my favorite thing, so leave some and let me know if this lived up to your expectations!

Epilogue: Things Once Left Unsaid

Spock opened his eyes to find himself slumped against one of the bright red rocks that dotted the deserts of Vulcan. He shook his head, and for a moment he had no idea why he was lying there under the desert sun in these filthy and gaudy ceremonial robes. Then he remembered the bonding ceremony, and then he experienced the pain over the loss of Jim. He had deliberately left his own mind unshielded. The logical part of his brain knew that he had been a sick and frightened young child, but the fact remained that he had caused his bondmate considerable pain for twenty years. Surak would have said that such thoughts of reciprocal pain were illogical, but Spock felt that it was something he must do. He would allow himself to experience his loss every day until he could find a way back to Underland.

Back at the ceremonial area, T'Pring was in a complete snit over being abandoned in the middle of the ceremony.

"He left me standing there. In the middle of our bonding," she muttered, a trace of anger fighting its way through her normal mask of composure.

"A case of nerves, no doubt," Stonn said calmly.

The other Vulcans had been chatting softly among themselves and they all fell silent as Spock approached. He was covered in red dust and looked rather disheveled.

"Spock?" Sybok asked, alarm obvious in his voice. Everyone was so surprised that they didn't even think to reprimand him for his show of emotion.

"What happened?" the elder T'Pau asked.

Sarek hurried over to his youngest son. "Are you well? What has befallen you?"

"I fell down a hole… and hit my head," Spock decided. It seemed easier than trying to explain everything, including the gaping wound in his heart.

"You look a frightful mess," Sarek said sternly, trying to brush away the worst of the dirt. "We must proceed with the ceremony."

Spock looked over at T'Pring, who was standing next to Stonn with a haughty expression on her face. Spock, however, found that he suddenly knew just what to say.

"T'Pring, I cannot complete the ceremony with you. I will not bond with someone who is not prepared to give their all for this partnership. I will not be like my brother, ignoring your betrayal. I am not cruel enough to wish you ill though. I hope you manage to find peace with Stonn." Spock looked next at his brother. "Sybok, you have been a more than adequate brother to me. I have missed your presence, and it grieves me to see you dealing with this failed bond. I hope you understand why I will not allow the same fate to befall me."

"I… cannot believe this…" T'Pring gasped, her perfect composure cracking. She turned to the elders. "You cannot truly believe his accusations.

Spock ignored her. "Stonn, you do not truly understand how lucky you were to bond with my brother. I wish you had been kinder to him. Now I hope you will do the right thing for both of you." Then he looked at his father. "Father, I cannot marry this woman. I know you thought you were doing the right thing by arranging this union, but you do not truly understand what I need. Please allow me to choose my own path in life from now on."

Sarek inclined his head slightly in his son's direction. T'Pring was finally able to gather enough poise to speak again. "Have you gone mad?" she demanded. "Unless you are going to tell us that your human blood has tainted you so much that you do not need Vulcan bonds, you will need to bond with someone soon. You will not find anyone willing and able to bond with you on such short notice. I am your best chance."

"I will not bond with someone who does not care for my wellbeing," Spock said coldly. Then he turned and walked away from the ceremonial area. T'Pring followed him, her normal emotionless mask falling away to be replaced by cold rage.

"You cannot do this to me. We have been promised to each other since childhood. To break our childhood bond in such a way is a disgrace, and I will not stand for it."

"Then perhaps you should not have been unfaithful to me," Spock said.

"You are punishing yourself just as much as you are punishing me, did you consider that?" she asked him.

"I am aware of the consequences of my actions."

"Then why did you pick the must public and painful way to destroy what might have remained of our relationship?"

"Because I do not deserve happiness any more than you do," Spock said as he turned to face her as last.

She froze. "I do not understand… You cannot still be blaming yourself for your mother's death, Spock…" For the first time, there was softness in her eyes as she looked at him.

"I still do blame myself for that, but it was not the reason I spoke of." Spock hesitated, wondering how much of his soul he should bare to his woman who should have been his mate. He found it surprisingly easy to bare it fully. After all, they had grown up together, and they had been friends, although they had never shown any romantic interest in each other. "It is… a complicated tale. Suffice it to say, when I was a child, I created a bond with a human inadvertently, and my absence plagued him for many years. I have since managed to repair the damage, but I cannot assuage the guilt I feel for the damage I caused him. So until I have figured out how to atone for my carelessness, I will not allow myself to enjoy a healthy bond with you or anyone else."

"That is… illogical. Yet… strangely noble," T'Pring said softly.

"It's also unnecessary," a voice called out from behind them. Both Vulcans turned to see a lanky human dressed in old fashioned clothes with long blonde hair. He was leaning on the shoulder of a ruggedly handsome man with dark gray hare ears and a disgruntled expression on his face.

"Jim…" Spock gasped. "I… do not understand. How did you…?"

"How did I find you?" Jim asked brightly. "Well, that did take some doing, but between this mind-link thing we have and some help from Uhura's potions… I found you again and I can take you home when you're ready."

Doubtfully, Spock glanced over at McCoy for confirmation, and the surly hare just scowled. "Won't nothin' satisfy him but to have you back in Underland… Dunno why he's so set on having some damn green-blooded hobgoblin that's caused him nothing but misery for the last however many years, but if that's what he wants…"

Spock simply could not believe his ears. He'd been resigned to being alone for several more years until he figured out how to cross back into Underland again. A small part of him had even resigned to be alone for the rest of his life if he couldn't return to Jim. The idea that Jim would come looking for him had simply never crossed his mind.

"You left those thoughts in my head that explained everything… all the stuff that happened to me and why I went a little crazy… and what you were planning to do to yourself. I couldn't let that happen, I couldn't let you hurt yourself like that," Jim explained.

"After all I put you through…" Spock found he could not really explain the emotions he was feeling.

"It wasn't your fault. You shouldn't punish yourself. Just come home," Jim said. He straightened up a little and took a few steps towards Spock.

Spock hesitated, then glanced sideways at T'Pring. She just looked at him. "You already informed me that our betrothal was broken. I would be a hypocrite if I demanded that you break this off. It is not any of my business anymore." And with that, she turned and walked away. Spock watched her go and saw her step to Stonn's side. Sybok and Sarek were there too and both Vulcans lifted their hands in salute. They knew even before Spock made the conscious choice what the outcome would be.

Spock turned back to Jim and stepped forward to meet him, wrapping the fragile human in a warm embrace. Jim's lips met his gratefully and Spock lost himself in the sensations for a moment until McCoy's throat-clearing brought them back to the present.

"Now I can see that ya'll are havin' a great time, but we really oughta be getting' home…. I'm gonna be right ticked off if I get locked out of Underland cuz you two horny fools can't handle yourselves," the Southern hare snapped.

Jim laughed. "Oh Bones, you know you're happy for us!" he exclaimed.

The other man didn't confirm or deny this, he just stepped over to a portal that hadn't been there a moment before and hurried through it. Jim tugged on Spock's hand, pulling him over. Spock glanced one last time around Vulcan. He'd been born and raised here, but it had never felt like home. Not the way he felt in the presence of this fascinating human with glimmering blue eyes.

"Your mind already feels more orderly," he heard himself saying.

Jim smiled so sweetly that Spock felt his heart might break just looking at it. "You're good for me," he said simply. "Now come on…"

And Spock clasped his hand tightly and stepped into the fantastic world in front on him, ready to face any challenge and brave any danger with his new bondmate by his side.

The End!


End file.
